Broken By the Rules of Love
by Laura1981
Summary: Set immediately after the season 1 finale finishes. Magic has returned to Storybrooke. Can Regina and Emma find each other again after all that has been revealed or will the dark sins of Regina's past tear them apart? SQ past revealed in future chapters
1. Chapter 1

**Broken By the Rules of Love**

**Disclaimers**: These characters are not mine. I'm only borrowing them for a bit of fun. I promise you if they were mine Swan Queen would become a canon on the show!

**Author's Note: ** Huge thanks to SwansAndQueens for beta reading and for coming up with a great description for Regina's clothes once she "becomes" the Evil Queen again. I suck and describing such things and she did an awesome job! Most of that paragraph is hers!

**Author's Note 2: **I start out each chapter with the character the POV will be told in. So if you wonder why it says Emma to start with, that's why.

**EMMA  
**

Emma is mesmerized by the purple... thing that is rolling over Storybrooke. She wants to call it smoke or a cloud, but those descriptions just all sound so unbelievable to her own ears. Then again, two hours ago she didn't believe in the curse and certainly not in dragons! Never in a million years would she have guessed that Storybrooke held a sleeping dragon within its depths that less than an hour ago she had slain. She, Emma Swan, had vanquished a dragon, watching it turn to dust before her eyes... this entire situation was unbelievable, and yet there was no denying the truth of everything she had seen and done in the last two hours. For god's sake she'd even saved her son's life with true love's kiss! Not to mention the ramifications of the curse actually being real. She felt like laughing out loud at the absurdity of everything, and she wanted nothing more than some time to herself so she could sit down and try to process everything that was happening so quickly; but she didn't have that luxury.

Henry gripped her hand tighter, his little fingers digging into her own larger ones with fear as the purple storm cloud grew ever closer to them. She suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to pick Henry up and run, but she dismissed the thought a second later. Certainly nowhere she could run to would hide her from whatever was coming. She'd never get far enough, fast enough.

Bending down, she grabbed Henry under the arms and lifted him to her where she held him tightly. Briefly they met each other's gazes, and she saw her own fear reflected even more strongly in his eyes.

With frustration she turned to Doctor Whale and shouted, "What the hell is that thing!"

Doctor Whale only looked back at her with alarm and fear as he shook his head slowly.

"It's almost here!" Henry whispered fearfully, clinging to her with all his might.

Emma turned her gaze back to the window. It was seconds from engulfing the building. Would it seep through the windows, or would they be safe in here? She didn't know, but to Henry she said, "It's ok, Henry, whatever it is, I'm here and I'll protect you."

The boy said nothing else, just watched with horror as the purple cloud began to envelope the building until all Emma could see was the cloud outside the window. Storybrooke itself was obscured by it. Holding her breath, she waited to see if the cloud would somehow come inside the building...one second...two seconds...three, after ten seconds she almost breathed a sigh of relief, but then it started to seep in through the window, and moments later it looked as if it were coming through the very wall itself. Reflexively she gripped Henry tighter, and he buried his head in her neck.

"It's ok, Henry," she murmured comfortingly, keeping her voice calm and even despite her own fear.

Instinctively she started to back further away from the window and toward the bed Henry had been laying on such a short time ago. Glancing around, she noticed the rest of the people in the room were backing away as well, but there was nowhere for any of them to go. Within seconds they would all be enveloped in the purple cloud. Holding Henry, she shut her eyes as it washed over them and waited... after thirty seconds she opened her eyes and looked around... nothing had changed. At least nothing she could see. The cloud was gone, but she felt the same and with a quick look around the room, everything else looked the same. It was as if the cloud had never been there at all.

Slowly she felt Henry raise his head from her shoulder, their gazes met, and after a moment they shared a small half grin. "Well, that was sort of anti-climactic wasn't it kid?" She watched as Henry looked around the room as she had done moments before, checking to see if anything had visibly changed and letting out a small breath in relief when his eyes confirmed their safety.

"I thought you said it was something bad," Emma joked, putting him down and ruffling his hair playfully.

"I-I thought it was." Henry grinned.

"Well, I'm glad it wasn't. I've had enough revelations for one day. I don't think I can take one more crazy ass..." her words died on her tongue when she saw the Mother Superior step in front of her...

The diminutive woman had a glowing aura surrounding her, and in her hand she held the eternity ring Emma had always worn around her neck - but she wasn't just holding it, she wasn't holding it at all actually. It was hovering just above her palm with its own aura surrounding the ring, causing the silver ring to glow with a golden light. Emma blinked; surely she was seeing things... maybe the purple cloud had done something to her after all. Maybe it was driving her insane. Without thought, she reached up to her neck to find her necklace gone, it really was hers.

"I don't... how did you..." Emma began but was at a loss for words, her gaze full of disbelief and wonder as she stared at the now glowing ring hovering in the Mother Superior's palm.

When the small woman stepped toward her, she reflexively took a step back.

"Don't be afraid, Emma," the Mother Superior began, her voice quiet, a large smile on her face. "You have freed us all from the dark curse as it was foretold you would, but the battle is not yet over."

"Is that why you haven't gone back?" Henry asked, voice quiet but full of awe.

Emma put a hand on Henry's shoulder when he started to walk closer to the Mother Superior than she was now comfortable with. This woman was obviously much more than just a mother superior in the world she came from, and until Emma knew what her intentions were and what side she was playing on, she wasn't going to let Henry anywhere near her.

"You're the blue fairy aren't you?" Henry exclaimed, eyes lighting up with excitement.

"The blue what?" Emma wanted to tell Henry there was no such thing as fairies, but the past few hours had taught her that everything she thought she knew to be true, everything she had always believed in, wasn't the case. There were dragons, curses and other worlds that were real. Worlds she'd always believed to be fairy tales, but the fairy tales were true and her mind was ready to overload with the possibilities that presented.

"The blue fairy or Reul Ghorm as some would know me," the small brunette confirmed, holding Emma's gaze for a moment before catching Henry's. "You're a very smart boy, Henry."

"She's on our side, Emma!" Henry almost shouted with joy, "She won't hurt us, she's here to help!"

Emma couldn't help it; she still looked at the blue fairy... Jesus Christ, listen to me, I'm calling her the blue fairy... with suspicion and distrust, but the glowing woman only smiled at her warmly, and Emma couldn't help but feel a little bit better when she did. No doubt that was some sort of magic trick Emma thought with a snort.

"Your son is correct, Emma, I'm here to help you by giving you this."

She held the glowing ring towards Emma. This time Emma didn't take a step back, but she didn't take the ring either.

"My ring, how did you get that? I was wearing it."

"Rumpelstiltskin has brought magic back to Storybrooke. All of us who had magical powers in our world now have them here."

Emma tried to stop her mouth from dropping open, but she couldn't. She was sure she looked quite the idiot with her jaw hanging and her eyes wide with incredulity.

"You can't be serious!"

"I wish I weren't," the blue fairy said, her tone now regretful, "because even though myself and my sisters now have our powers back, so does Rumpelstiltskin and the Evil Queen."

Emma was afraid to ask but did anyway. "Your sisters?"

"Yes, the other fairies. They make up the sisters of the religious order here."

Emma wanted to pound her head against the brick wall.

"Well, if you all have your powers back and I broke the curse as I was meant to do, then you and your sisters can now go deal with Rumpelstiltskin and the Evil Queen," Emma said matter-of-factly, turning away from the blue fairy to go to the closet near Henry's hospital bed and retrieve his clothes. She was getting out of here. This was all crazy. She couldn't handle any of this. She did what she had to do to save Henry, but now? Now all she wanted to do was get away from here. She needed time, time to think about all this, time to figure out what it all meant.

Emma hadn't even heard the woman move, but suddenly she was in front of her causing Emma to stumble back in surprise.

"It's not that simple. My sisters and I are sworn not to interfere in these matters. In fact we couldn't even if we wanted to. You are the saviour, Emma; you are the one chosen to bring peace."

"This is crazy!" Emma burst out, her emotions getting the better of her as her anger caused tears to form, "I have slain a dragon, and I woke Henry with true love's kiss! _True love's kiss_ for god's sake!" Emma emphasized, throwing her hands in the air, "And I broke the curse! But you're telling me that's not good enough! That my destiny is not yet fulfilled and I need to do more! I need to somehow defeat people who have magical abilities! How in the hell am I supposed to do that lady?"

Emma remembered to breathe when she felt Henry take her hand and squeeze it; she looked down at him, blinking back her tears.

"I believe in you, Em – mom," he told her, his face breaking out into a huge grin.

Emma smiled back at him, feeling her chest surge with emotion. No one had ever believed in her like Henry did. His faith was unwavering, hell the kid had swallowed what he knew to be poison in order to get her to believe in herself. He was right, she could do this. She had to do this. Look at everything she'd done so far. As unbelievable as it was, this was her family. Mary Margaret and David Nolan were her parents, Henry was her son, and Regina was her... Emma didn't know what Regina was. She had so many conflicting emotions for her, more so than ever before now that she knew Regina was indeed the Evil Queen. The one to curse them all to this world, the one to curse her to a life without her parents, yet, despite all that, Emma had seen a different side to Regina this past month. A side she always suspected was there, but was never sure about until now. A side Regina kept well hidden from everyone else behind a mask of superiority and disdain.

"Does my mom have to kill the Evil Queen?"

Henry's question brought Emma crashing back to reality, her introspection cut short by the picture that conjured in her mind.

"I'm not killing Regina!" Emma shouted vehemently, causing Henry to flinch.

Immediately she felt guilty and dropped to one knee, wrapping him in a hug.

"Henry," she started, meeting his gaze, "I am not going to kill your mother."

"But, you're my mom..." Emma was going to respond, but then she noticed his little face twist into a mask of confusion, "But, but she's my mom too," he finished, his tone conveying his confusion. "When she told me she loved me, she...she wasn't lying. Even though

everyone knew she was the Evil Queen, she wasn't lying... I don't want you to kill her anymore."

Emma embraced Henry again, stifling a sob that attempted to escape her. She had seen it, too. When Regina knelt before Henry she had been anguished, tearful, afraid, but also honest, heartbreakingly honest. Emma had always known Regina loved Henry, but now Henry finally saw it too, and she was relieved. Feeling him shiver in her arms, she stood to get his clothes.

"You're freezing kid; let me get you your clothes."

"Allow me," the blue fairy said, stepping forward. Waving her hand that wasn't holding the glowing ring, Emma found herself blinking a half dozen times before believing what her eyes were telling her. The blue fairy had magically dressed Henry in blue jeans, a t-shirt, sneakers and a small brown leather jacket that looked like a miniature version of the one she wore herself sometimes.

"Thanks!" Henry gushed.

Emma shouldn't have been amazed by how easily Henry was adjusting to all this, but she was. A part of her still couldn't help but think the purple cloud had knocked her senseless, and all this was just some hallucination, but she knew it wasn't. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders, smothered her fear and faced the blue fairy.

"What do I have to do?"

"I can't interfere directly in what is to come, but I can give you this," the blue fairy began to explain, holding out the ring for Emma to take. This time Emma stepped forward and, with somewhat hesitant fingers, reached for the ring. She expected something when she touched it, maybe an electric shock or anything really, but there was nothing, it felt just as it always had, except it was glowing. "I have imbued this ring with magical properties. It will help you when you need it most."

Emma took the ring, and, as she did so, it stopped glowing. "I think I broke it," she half-joked, part of her wondering if she had.

The blue fairy laughed melodically. "You didn't break it. The magic is in there, but it will only glow when the magic is active, it's currently dormant."

Emma looked up and noticed the glow surrounding the blue fairy had also gone. "Are you currently dormant too?" she asked with a half smile.

The blue fairy smiled, "Magic is hidden in this world. Rumpelstiltskin may have brought it back, but it is not visible all the time as it was in our world."

"So how will I know when to use this thing then? How will I know when I need it most?"

"That will be up to you." The blue fairy smiled.

"Great," Emma mumbled, rolling her eyes. "And how do I use it when I think I need it most?"

"You will know."

Emma repressed a growl of frustration. "Wonderful. Is there anything you can tell me?"

"Wear it around your neck as you always have, when the time comes you will know what to do." With those words the blue fairy started to faintly glow again while at the same time Emma felt the ring disappear from between her fingers and reappear around her neck on the silver chain she kept it on. Once there, the blue fairy again lost her glow.

"Do I need to fight Regina?" Emma asked as she fingered the ring, afraid of the answer.

"Yes," the blue fairy responded, "but not in the way you might think. The Evil Queen has begun to change. With magic coming back to Storybrooke, she will face two paths open to her, she must choose one. A long time ago she faced the same choice, and she chose darkness. Most people in our world only ever get to make that choice once, but coming here has changed the rules. She has another chance. The choice will be hers."

"Then why did you tell her to go hide?" Emma asked. She wanted to ask what happened in Regina's past, but she knew the blue fairy wouldn't tell her.

"She cursed us all, Emma, that will not be forgiven easily, and people will want her punished for her crime."

Emma nodded her head, of course they would. Any sane person would. Even Emma wanted Regina to pay for what she did, for taking her parents away, for taking her whole world away. How would she have grown up differently if she had two parents who loved her? God, how differently would she have grown up in the world she was born into if she hadn't been sent here? So many questions and so little time to figure any of it out.

"And Rumpelstiltskin?" Emma spat out the name. She wanted him to pay even more than

Regina. He had sent her down to slay a dragon to retrieve a love potion they hadn't even needed! He'd sent her down there, possibly to her death, to retrieve a potion for him so he could get his powers back! If she had died down there, Henry would have died as well and he hadn't cared one damn about that. She wanted him to pay.

"You need to stop him. If he gets what he wants, nothing will ever be able to stop him again."

Emma felt her spine crawl at the implications. "What does he want?"

"Power."

"But he already has-,"

"Not just his own power. He wants all the dark magic that exists in this world to be his. As much as he'd like to, he can't take mine or my sister's, white and black magic are not compatible."

"Regina!" Emma almost shouted, panic creeping into her voice, "He's going to go after Regina isn't he?"

The blue fairy nodded her head once, "If he can get her black magic to combine with his, he will be more powerful than even myself. He will no longer have to play by the rules, and he will have the ability to destroy us all."

Emma gulped, her eyes going wide and her hand reaching for Henry's. Once she had it, she nodded at the blue fairy and started walking with determination towards the exit.

"Where are we going?" Henry asked, his own eyes wide and afraid.

"To find your mom."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Big thanks to SwansandQueens for beta reading and for your great description of the Queen's clothes!

**REGINA**

Regina threw open the front door to her home, the one space where she felt safest, and raced up the stairs to her son's room; or what used to be her son's room, she corrected herself as she opened the door and stepped inside. Her biggest fear since laying eyes on Emma Swan had come true; she'd lost her son, just as she'd lost everything else in her life she'd ever loved. Why did she think it would be any different this time? Why had she allowed herself to think her control was so unbreakable?

Sitting down on Henry's small bed, she reached for his pillow and brought it to her face, breathing in the smell that was uniquely Henry. She didn't even try to stop the tears as she sobbed at the knowledge she would never hug him again, never see him again. Now that the curse was broken, she would have to run or risk being killed. Her crime could be punished no other way; the people she had cursed to this existence would seek punishment and justice in the form of taking off her head. Yet, she would stay if Henry had wanted her to, she would give up her life for him if only he needed her; but he didn't need her, he didn't want her, he didn't love her. He needed, wanted and loved Emma Swan, the only woman in the world he saw as his mother. She was his Evil Queen. She was everyone's Evil Queen. The sins of her past could no longer be hidden beneath the facade of a curse, a curse that had been given to her so long ago by Rumpelstiltskin.

A wail of anguish and loss burst forth causing her to clutch the pillow even tighter, as if it was some makeshift tourniquet that could keep her anger and pain from escaping. That bastard was behind all this. He had used her from the beginning. He had sought her out all those years ago when she was desperately searching for a way to make Snow White suffer for what she had done to her. He had given her the curse and asked nothing in return for it, only giving his usual sing-song warning that "all magic comes with a price." She had taken it from him with no real intentions of ever using it. She had no desire to go to a foreign world to live out the rest of her existence; it was only after the sleeping potion had failed to keep Snow White asleep that Regina became desperate enough to use the dark curse.

"Just as he knew I would," Regina whispered to herself, her anger building the more she thought about him.

She knew without a doubt that this moment was what Rumpelstiltskin had wanted from the beginning. He had risked her son's life as well as Emma's to get his hands on that potion he had hidden within Maleficent. But why? Why would he want that potion so badly...

Regina's musings stopped when she heard a quiet rumbling from outside. Rising wearily to her feet, she briefly wondered if the town had already got together to behead her as she'd dreamed they had, but when she looked out the window it wasn't furious townspeople she saw, but a purple fog rolling in across Storybrooke.

For a moment she felt fear as she tried to figure out what it was and what it meant, but then she knew. Gold had used True Love's potion to bring back that which had been lost. Arrogantly, the little imp probably thought only he would benefit from using the potion, but Regina knew better. Magic was coming to Storybrooke within that rolling fog, magic restored to all those who had lost it in the transition to this world. A slow grin formed on her lips as she thought of having her powers back. She would make Rumpelstiltskin pay dearly for his crimes against her, against Henry, against Emma.

Not so long ago, Regina would have used her powers to rid herself of Emma Swan, but over the last month things had changed between them greatly, and against her better judgement, against everything her life had taught her and that her mother had so painfully shown her, she had started to fall in love with the brash Sheriff. The feelings had shocked her. She'd almost thought herself incapable of feeling love for anyone anymore except Henry, and until this moment she'd never admitted her feelings even to herself, but the power held within the fog made her bold, her confidence returning a hundred fold. She would make that bastard pay, and then she would leave Storybrooke forever.

Despite her feelings, there was no place for her here, not now. She knew what she felt for Emma and Henry was not returned. Henry had stopped loving her long ago, and Emma had never started. Their relationship had begun with anger and ended with anger. She could still clearly see the disgust and hatred in Emma's eyes the last time they had argued in the Sheriff's office over her involvement with Mary Margaret's frame job. It hadn't been the first time Emma had looked at her with such animosity, but this time there had been a hardness to it, a finality that had never been there before; and then Emma had told her to stay away from Henry. The very idea was absurd since Henry was her son and lived with her, but the way Emma had said it caused Regina to look at Emma with the same hardness. After that encounter, Regina was sure she would never see Miss Swan again, at least not in an intimate way, but then she'd shown up at her door insisting they talk, telling her what was between them had to end; Regina had already thought it had. After all, that along with the fact that Miss Swan had attempted to abduct her son were the main reasons she decided to give Emma that damn apple turnover!

Regina sighed; no, there had certainly been no time for Emma to love her, and she had given her no reasons to do so. Now that the Sheriff knew who she was and what she had done, she would want her dead along with everyone else.

Regina scoffed at herself, angry for ever believing her life could turn out any differently to this. She was not meant to have love, the love of an equal or the love of a son. She was destined to be alone, it was better that way. Too many people always ended up getting hurt around her, whether by her own hand or by machinations beyond her control. That would end now. As the ominous fog grew ever closer, now only seconds away, she closed her eyes and embraced the dark power she felt returning as the purple cloud washed over her. It felt like being reborn. She needed nothing but this power, this feeling of control.

Opening her eyes seconds later, she watched as the last of the purple fog disappeared. Now to see what she could do. Closing her eyes, she thought of one of her favourite outfits from the other world. Waving her hands in front of herself briefly to make the clothes appear, she walked to a nearby mirror to examine her handy work. Leather pants, long black riding boots, and a rich, red velvet riding jacket with a sweeping, skirted back, the gold buttons of the bodice closing snugly around her middle, the sloping, black collared v-neck of the jacket providing the perfect frame for her exposed cleavage. Well, well, this was actually a welcome change to the mayor's usual conservative Gucci suits. No need for those anymore, she thought wryly as she reached up to adjust the finely adorned black choker surrounding her neck. The alabaster lace peeking through the bottom of the cuffed sleeves brushed her chest as she fingered the medallion pendant hanging there. Perfect.

As a finishing touch, she waved her hands over her face and hair, smiling at the result. Her short bob was gone, replaced with long, dark brown hair done up in a sweeping bun atop her head. Her lips were covered with dark red lipstick and her eyes dusted with blue eye shadow. At long last, she once again looked exactly like the Evil Queen the citizens of Storybrooke would remember. However, her careful inspection of herself caused her to catch her own gaze in the mirror, and she became disgusted with what she saw there just as she had three days ago when, in a rage, she'd thrown her wine glass at the mirror downstairs. She truly could not stand the sight of herself anymore, whether as Mayor of Storybrooke or Evil Queen of a faraway Kingdom. Every time she looked, she could see the truth of who she was and what she had become. This time instead of throwing a wine glass ,she pointed at her image and watched as it shattered into pieces. A small smirk formed as she thought there was a certain poetic justice in that since that's exactly how she currently felt; shattered and in pieces. Thinking about the other mirrors in the house, she flicked her wrist and her grin widened as she heard those all shatter as well. Briefly she considered destroying the entire mansion, after all, it had no use to anyone anymore, but she had more important things to do then waste her newly acquired skills on pointless destruction.

Stepping out of her son's room, she ran her fingers along the banister in the wraparound hallway as she made her way to the stairs. She tried to will herself not to think about all the memories this house contained. There were so many memories made with her son who had truly made this her home: Sleeping in his bedroom when he was just a baby because she was afraid she wouldn't hear him if he cried in the night; watching him learn to crawl and his first steps into her in the hallway when she'd come home from work. He'd been so excited to see her, he'd used the small table nearby to push himself up and took two faltering steps toward her before he fell down, crawling to her the rest of the way. Then there was the first time he'd looked up at her with wide, loving eyes and called her mommy... A sob caught in her throat as she thought about those times, a time when he did love her, when he did think of her as his mother, when he looked at her with something besides hate and suspicion.

Regina gripped the banister tightly as she made her way down the stairs, fighting her emotions every step of the way, not being able to stop the tears as they fell silently down her cheeks and trying desperately to focus her mind and give herself over to the darkness within her. She wanted to be numb; she didn't want to feel this pain, this heartache. It was too much. It overwhelmed her even more than it had when Daniel had been taken from her all those years ago.

Standing in the hallway near the front door she took one last look around, her gaze landing on the entry to the kitchen. Her breath caught as she thought about the last time she'd been in that kitchen, with Emma, giving her that damn apple turnover and then what came after... the furious, rough sex followed by a slamming front door as the Sheriff left when they were done. Regina had slumped against the wall then and cried, knowing she had damned the blonde to an endless hell filled with nothing but her own regrets. Regina had almost run after her, but her fear at losing Henry, at losing everything she'd created here held her to the floor and left her in misery only to get a frantic phone call from the Sheriff an hour later. Briefly, Regina had been relieved to hear Emma's voice and she started to tell her not to eat the turnover, but before she could get the words out, Emma had screamed into the phone that something was wrong with Henry and to get to the hospital immediately. The short drive had been torture as the possible scenarios ran through her mind, but never had she thought Henry would have eaten the turnover. Henry didn't even like cooked apples! How could she have known he would eat the damned thing?

When she'd walked into that hospital room, Emma grabbing her in a rage, dragging her into a storage room and throwing her against the shelving, she'd welcomed the pain. She wanted Emma Swan to hurt her, to make her pay for trying to cause her harm, but then the Sheriff had said the words that caused her blood to run cold and her world to crumble around her. She told her he ate the turnover, and in that moment Regina felt as if she had lost everything. The feeling was only cemented when Emma demanded the truth from her and she capitulated easily, all the fight gone out of her, nearly collapsing into the enraged woman's arms. Instead, she watched as the realization of who she really was came to Emma's eyes and, unbelievably, Regina felt herself break a little more. In that moment, she knew that if there could ever have been anything between herself and Emma, there could be no more. Not only had she tried to put the Sheriff asleep for eternity, she had now inadvertently done that very thing to their son. All that was left to her was to fix it in whatever way she could, but in the end Emma had done that, too. She'd slain the dragon, saved Henry with true love's kiss and broken the dark curse the Evil Queen inflicted on them all, even on herself. Regina included herself because, in retrospect, she could now see that enacting that curse had only caused her to experience more pain than she'd ever experienced in the other world. Here in Storybrooke, she had now lost more than she'd ever been deserving of.

Now there was only one thing left to do. She would exact a revenge that would hurt the only two people in this town deserving of pain, herself and that bastard imp Rumpelstiltskin. They both deserved endless purgatory, and she was going to make sure at least one of them received it. A wicked laugh began to form as she thought about what she would do to Rumpelstiltskin when she found him. The laugh followed her out the front door and into the street, causing nearby heads to turn and look at her with fear. However, she was different now, and seeing them cower before her brought her no joy, she only desired one man to squirm with fear at the sight of her.

Regina closed her eyes and concentrated on the focus of all her anger and hatred, disappearing moments later into thin air. It was time to get her revenge, for herself and for those she loved most. If only she had waited a few moments more she may have seen one of those people come screeching around the corner in her little yellow bug.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Big thanks to SwansandQueens for beta reading as always! Sorry if two chapter's a week aren't enough for some but the story won't be super long, probably only 8 chapters or so. Hope you like this update. Feel free to leave reviews if you want to. Thanks for reading!

**EMMA**

Holding Henry's hand tightly the two came running out of the hospital at break neck speed, Emma nearly half dragging Henry as he tried to keep up. She knew she should slow down and think about this, about what she was going to do when she saw Regina but all she could think about was being too late to do anything to save her. Being too late or too afraid was the story of her life and she was sick of it. She was sick of living in fear of her own emotions. All her life she lived her life at arm's length from other people. If they got too close to her, she ran, she didn't want the responsibility of people depending on her or needing her. The idea of getting that close to someone and then having them leave her, terrified her. So she always left first and lived her life without ever really living it at all. She simply existed from one moment to the next; until Henry had tracked her down on the night of her twenty eight-birthday changing everything she knew.

Now she had a son, a son who loved and believed in her, who depended on her to do the right thing and while the idea still scared her, it was now something she didn't want to live without. When she had decided to leave Storybrooke, telling herself it was for the good of Henry, it had been a lie. It had been for the good of no one but herself. Everything had become overwhelming to her; the situation with Henry and the situation with Regina.

Regina…now there was a situation she had never expected to find herself in. So much had happened over the last month in her life; she became Sheriff, found a home in Storybrooke and started a lurid affair with the Mayor. She'd gone into the relationship feeling it was a mistake, knowing it could only end badly, and it had, but now, now all she could think about was making sure Rumpelstiltskin didn't kill Regina. Despite knowing who Regina was and what she had done, Emma didn't want to see her dead even though she'd threatened that very thing only a few hours ago. She'd been angry and out of her mind with fear for Henry. By all accounts Emma knew she should want Regina dead, or at least she shouldn't want anything to do with her. The woman had cursed her existence, tried to kill her mother, then tried to frame her best friend, er, no mother again, Emma thought wryly to herself. That was going to take some getting used to. She carried on an affair with Emma while knowing who she was and what she had done and then she had tried to put Emma to sleep for eternity… yes, she shouldn't want anything to do with Regina and she certainly should not be risking her life to save her, but that's what the good guy does wasn't it? That's what she'd told Henry, that the good guy always does the right thing, even when they don't want to. If only this were just a case of her being the 'good guy' and doing what she needed to, however, she knew it was a lot more than that.

During her relationship, if you could call it that, with Regina, Emma had started to fall for the overly confident, cold and detached woman. She tried not to, god how she tried, but there were little things Regina said and did that Emma could not reconcile with who she had found out the Mayor really was. Things that made her seem less cold and detached than the façade she presented to the world. Like the time Emma's car had broken down in a storm out in the middle of the woods. She couldn't get any reception for her phone so she'd been stuck trying to get it going again herself. It had been pouring and she was drenched to the bone, teeth chattering from the cold wind that was howling against her soaked skin. It couldn't have been more than fifty degrees outside. Emma was bent over inside the hood when she heard a car coming from behind her. Sighing with relief she tensed again when she saw it was the Mayor's black Mercedes.

At this point she and the Mayor had already slept together on a number of occasions but that hadn't meant their relationship had improved much. They both still took every chance they got to remind the other how much of a pain in the ass they felt each other were. The large black car had pulled up beside her and the driver's side tinted window slowly lowered. Regina's eyes raked over her saturated form before telling Emma to get in the car and despite the situation Emma had taken offense at Regina's tone and told the Mayor, rather childishly, she thought upon reflection, that she didn't need, nor want Regina's help. The Mayor had rolled her eyes at her and told her that if she'd rather stay out here and freeze to death, then that was fine with her, but that she'd been concerned when she couldn't reach Emma on her cell phone so she'd… and that had been when Regina looked away from her and fell silent, the muscles of her jaw tensing and un-tensing. In that moment Regina had unintentionally revealed that despite all her bravado and constant bickering with the Sheriff, she cared about her. She'd been concerned when she couldn't reach Emma and she'd actually come looking for her. Emma had been struck dumb for a moment by the revelation – no one had ever cared enough about her to come looking for her when she went missing. They just let her go.

Without another word Emma had walked around to the passenger side and got in the car, shutting the door quietly. She tried not to shiver but she was so cold and wet she couldn't stop her body from shaking. Without a word Regina reached into the back seat and produced a towel and blanket, handing them to Emma. Their gazes met when Emma reached out to take them, a small smile of thanks forming on her lips and for a moment, just for a moment, she saw a warmth and caring in the soft brown gaze looking back at her that she had never expected to see. Taking the blanket she wrapped it around her shaking form and used the towel to dry her face and hair, putting it on her lap when she was done. Regina was still staring at her and Emma watched, entranced, as an elegant hand reached out to take the towel from her lap. Her breathing hitched and caught when Regina gently wiped some moisture from her neck, their gazes connecting. When she was finished Regina tossed the towel in the back only to lean towards her a moment later and lightly kiss the pulse point on her neck before pulling back and meeting her eyes again.

"I'm glad you're ok," she'd said, before putting the car into gear and driving off.

Emma had felt her heart hammering in her chest and her clothes weren't the only things wet any longer. She'd only taken a few moments to get her bearings but it had been long enough for Emma to see the Mayor's cold mask of indifference had slid back into place. When she tried to ask about what had just happened and why she'd come looking for her, the Mayor dismissed her with a soft chuckle and indifferent reply, saying that she didn't want her employees, especially not the Sheriff, getting themselves killed, bad image for the town. The callous response and apathetic tone had pissed Emma off and as per usual she was quick to respond with her own biting remark saying, "Yeah, whatever, I'm sure you took care of Graham this well too."

Emma had wanted to take it back the moment she said it, but it was too late. The two drove in cloying silence the rest of the way back to the Mayor's house where they proceeded to go inside and fuck the living hell out of each other. For Emma it had been the turning point. In the past their rough sex held no meaning other than fulfilling their own carnal desires for each other, but that night it had felt as though they'd been rougher than they ever had previously in a desperate attempt to prove to themselves and each other that what they were doing still meant nothing.

Emma sighed as she came back to the present. They had really made each other scream that night, in pleasure and possibly once or twice in pain, but Emma never forgot that moment in the car, the look in Regina's eyes, it had told her more than words ever could. There had been a couple of other things after that as well. They had an unspoken agreement that Emma was welcome to stay the night if she wanted to after one of their sessions so long as she slept in the guest bedroom. Henry never knew she'd been there as she would wake before he would and sneak out; but days after that incident in the car, after one such night of passion, Emma had made to leave her room and Regina and asked her to stay. The request was so quiet she'd barely heard it. She thought for a second about asking Regina to repeat herself, but the other woman had already turned on her side away from her, wrapping her own arms around her middle, almost as if bracing herself for something. Rejection maybe, the blonde now thought in retrospect. So Emma hadn't asked for any more words that seemed to cost Regina so dearly. She just lifted the sheet and slid into bed beside her, keeping to her own side. She heard a small sigh escape Regina's lips as the other woman relaxed.

The next morning she woke to find the normally aloof Mayor lying almost on top of her, one arm and leg draped across her. It was a first for Emma, she'd never woken up with a lover before so she laid there, sensing that if she called attention to their position Regina would panic. It didn't take much longer before the brunette began to stir and Emma closed her eyes, faking sleep to spare them both an awkward situation. However, what happened next still caused Emma's heart to clench when she thought about it. She could feel Regina lift her head, probably assessing where she was and what the hell was going on, but then she laid her head softly back to Emma's chest and for the briefest of moments Regina wrapped her leg and arm more tightly around the body she held entrapped before raising her head and placing a gentle kiss between Emma's breasts. Then the Mayor removed her limbs from Emma, caressing her cheek softly before rising from the bed. Emma didn't move until she heard the shower start in the adjoining bathroom. What she did next she was not proud of.

Realizing Regina must be developing feelings for her as well, Emma rose and dressed quickly; leaving a note that she had work she needed to get done before fleeing the house. She felt like a complete ass, but between her own newly awakened feelings and Regina's recent actions, she was feeling the urge to run just like she always did when people got too close. She hadn't fled town as was her usual habit, but she had stayed away from Regina for five days, making up excuses about why she couldn't see her and Regina never pushed, and after the second day, she stopped calling. Emma knew she would. Regina was not the type of woman to chase someone. So after the fifth day Emma had gone to Regina and things continued as they had before those incidents took place with no questions asked. Sometimes Emma would still catch Regina looking at her in a way she couldn't quite define, or was too afraid to define, but there had been no more physical occurrences of the Mayor showing her affection.

Still, those instances stayed with Emma and when you compared those to who Regina really was and what she had done, so much of it made no sense and the blonde couldn't help feeling she was missing a big piece of the puzzle. After all, she and Regina hadn't really spoken of much during their time together. They didn't sit and chat about their past or really anything else for that matter. Very rarely would Regina make a cryptic comment alluding to something, but when Emma had once enquired further about it, Regina played it off as meaning nothing and Emma had quickly forgot all about it when the dark woman's tongue started to trace a line down her naked torso.

So whether right or wrong, foolish or not, this time Emma Swan was going to listen to her heart, just this once and do what she felt she needed to do without trying to define her actions rationally. Once Rumpelstiltskin was dealt with there would be plenty of time for her to face the consequences of her actions and figure out what the hell to do with all these drastic turns of events, but right now time was not a commodity she had a lot of and her decisions needed to be made quickly and without hesitation.

As she sprinted to her yellow bug she took a moment to glance around her. Any trace of the purple fog had vanished and in its wake left people stumbling about; looking lost and disoriented… or was that me breaking the curse that did that she wondered to herself. A few glanced in her direction, but didn't pay her much attention as they looked around themselves with confusion. Emma could only imagine what it would feel like to suddenly get an entire life's worth of memories crashing back in your brain. She was thankful that was at least one problem she didn't need to contend with.

"Emma!"

Emma jumped in surprise as Henry tugged on the sleeve of her red leather jacket, shouting at her.

"I've been trying to get your attention for ages now!" He told her, looking exasperated.

She gave him a small smile, "Sorry kid, what's up?" Emma asked, as she kept walking to the car.

"Do you think we'll be able to stop Rumpelstiltskin in time?" Henry asked.

Arriving at the car Emma walked around to the passenger side and grabbed two walkie talkies from her glove box.

"I don't know," she answered honestly, "but I'm going to do everything I can to try."

"You mean _we_ are going to do everything we can to try," Henry corrected her, tone questioning.

"I can't take you with me, Henry, it's too dangerous." Emma explained, kneeling in front of him and giving him one of the walkie talkies. Before he could object and he was about to, she continued, "Take this with you, I'll let you know when I find your mom." He was frowning, obviously not happy with her decision and she pulled him into a quick hug. "I can't risk losing you again, Henry," she explained, her voice almost breaking at the thought as she ruffled his hair to break the somber moment. "I need to find Mary Margaret and leave you with her."

"You mean your mom?" Henry interjected with a big grin, derailing Emma's entire train of thought.

"Um… yeah, I guess she is, isn't she?" Emma agreed, her mouth turning down into a frown as she thought about it. It made her head hurt to think of Mary Margaret as her mother. She loved who she'd come to think of as her best friend fiercely, but to think of her as her mother would take some getting used to. Not only was she older than her own mother, but-.

"EMMA!"

Emma whipped around to see Mary Margaret – no, her mother – calling out her name and running toward her with David Nolan, who she now knew to be her father, right behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

**EMMA**

Emma stood, transfixed, as Mary Margaret and David ran towards her. Despite her apprehension and confusion that these two people were actually her parents, she couldn't help the tears that formed in her eyes as Mary Margaret, no, Snow White, she corrected herself, threw herself into her arms, crying hysterically, Emma felt her own tears fall. She didn't yet_ feel_ that these two were her parents. She didn't feel anything towards them even remotely resembling what she knew Henry felt about her. What she did know was that they must be feeling the same feelings now that she felt for her own son, and that was more than she had ever hoped for in her life; real parents who loved her and wanted her.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw David, no, that was wrong too, he was Prince Charming wasn't he? God, this was going to take some getting used to. She saw David, with much more hesitation than the woman in her arms had displayed, carefully place his right arm around them both, but he was respectful of coming too close to Emma. Reaching out, the blonde grasped his right hand and squeezed it affectionately, watching the action cause tears to form in his bright blue eyes and an already large smile to become impossibly bigger. Moments later she felt Henry try to wrap his smaller arms around both herself and whom she now knew to be his grandmother.

Now _that _one was even weirder. The small woman in her arms didn't look old enough to be her mother let alone his _grandmother_! In that moment it hit her exactly what Regina had taken from her, and she felt a white hot surge of anger rise like bile in her throat for the Mayor. Yet, just as always, that anger was tempered by her burgeoning love for the complicated woman, and before she would damn her for her actions, after all it was more Regina's actions she had a problem with than the actual woman herself, before she would walk away and leave the woman a shattered mess, she was determined to find out what the cause behind them was.

"Emma," Snow uttered the name with reverence, pulling away from the tight embrace, cupping her daughter's cheeks and gazing at her as if she'd never seen her before, tears still falling from her eyes. "I knew I would see you again one day."

Emma realized with a start that this was in truth the first time her mother had ever seen her. When she'd met Mary Margaret, neither of them had any idea who the other person actually was.

"You did it Emma, it was foretold you would break the curse and you have. I believed so fiercely that you would," Mary Margaret said, removing her hands from the blonde's cheeks and wiping her own eyes. "And look at you! You grew to become the beautiful, strong, courageous woman I always knew you would be. I am so, so proud of you, my dear, sweet Emma….my best friend."

"We are both so proud, Emma," David added, putting his arm around Mary Margaret's shoulders and smiling.

Emma felt fresh tears form at the declaration. "I don't know about courageous, I was ready to run out of town with my tail between my legs, remember?" Emma joked, but then she had a terrible thought... did they all remember? Now that their memories of their previous lives had been restored to them, would they remember their lives here in Storybrooke for the past twenty-eight years?

"I remember," Mary Margaret answered.

"Thank god," Emma blurted, "for a second there I was afraid maybe you'd lost your memories of this world in exchange for your old ones."

In saying it, Emma realized it sounded ridiculous, but by now she was getting used to everything sounding ridiculous.

"The important thing is you stayed," Mary Margaret said with a soft smile, "I know how hard all this has been for you. Finding Henry..." At this her voice trailed off for a moment as she gazed at the boy who was listening to everything with a huge smile on his face, "my grandson," she whispered, as if unable to believe it. "I can't believe I have a grandson."

"I can't believe I have a mother and father," Emma joked, but immediately regretted it when she saw tears fill Mary Margaret's eyes again.

"I am so sorry, Emma," Mary Margaret started, taking a step to stand as close to her as possible and grabbing her arm, giving a small affectionate caress until she grasped her hand, "I am so sorry for all of this. For you having to grow up alone, for not having the family that wanted you so much," at this her voice closed up with emotion and she had to take a deep breath before continuing. Emma found herself crying all over again and grasping the other hand tightly in return.

"And we did want you Emma, so, _so_ much. I loved you before you were born, and the moment you were placed in my arms I never wanted to let you go, but I had to. If I hadn't, you would have been lost to us forever. The Evil Queen would have made sure of that."

Emma watched as Mary Margaret's face transformed from intense grief to rage the moment after she mentioned the Evil Queen.

"Regina." Mary Margaret spat out the name as if it were the foulest word she'd ever had to utter, and Emma actually found herself shuddering from the intensity of hatred she felt from her towards Regina. "She will be made to pay for _everything_ she has done to _everyone_ in this town," Mary Margaret pledged.

"Please don't kill my mom." Henry spoke up, his voice pleading.

All three adults simultaneously looked down at the young boy standing with them, silent until now.

"I know she's done really bad, really terrible things and I wanted her dead too for a long time. But she told me she loves me, and she wasn't lying!" He emphasized, "Because I have the same power Emma does, and if she had been lying I would have known. And she told me she loved me and she was crying and I have never seen her cry before. Not ever. But she was, and she told me no matter what anyone told me and no matter what I thought about her, she did love me and for the first time in a long time, I-I believed her. I do believe her. So please, don't kill my mom," he finished, looking a bit sheepish but still very serious after the longest speech Emma could ever remember hearing from him.

Emma felt fresh tears slide down her cheeks, and she wondered if she would ever stop crying at this rate. She heard Mary Margaret let out a strangled sob, and when she looked up even David was crying. She knew she should get used to thinking of them both by their real names, but it all just sounded so crazy to her to call them by names she used to only think of as characters in a book. Especially Charming! How could she be expected to call anyone that? It sounded so damn... silly!

"Oh Henry," Mary Margaret started, kneeling before the boy and taking his hand, "I promise I will try to make sure she isn't killed, but we need to find her, she needs to answer for what she's done." The petite woman explained gently, and as an after-thought added, "I'm so sorry you had to grow up with her as your mom."

Henry shook his head. "Don't be sorry. She was actually a good mom. She was strict, and sometimes I don't think she knew how to say certain things to me, but until I got the book of fairy tales, things weren't so bad. It wasn't until I started to think of her as just the Evil Queen and not my mom that it got worse, and even then she was still good to me, she still loved me and took care of me. She was never evil to me."

Mary Margaret smiled sadly, "I'm glad you were taken care of, and I understand what you mean. There was a time, a very, very long time ago, when Regina cared for me as well. Until now, I thought that side of her had died with-." Mary Margaret stopped herself and stood up.

Emma was looking at her with shock, mouth agape and eyes wide. "Regina cared about you!" Emma couldn't believe it. She'd seen first-hand how much Regina detested this woman right here in Storybrooke, and imagined that hatred would have been ten-fold where they'd originally come from.

Mary Margaret smiled sadly, "It was a very long time ago. I was just a child, no older than Henry is now. It's a very… complicated story, but yes, once upon a time, Regina cared for me."

"So her name really is Regina then?" Emma asked, she had been curious if that really was Regina's name, but she was also deflecting the conversation. As much as she wanted to know what had happened between the two women, she knew she didn't have time for that story now.

"Yes," Mary Margaret replied.

"And your real name is Snow White and David's is _Charming_?" Emma said the last with no small amount of disbelief, a small grin on her lips.

"James, actually," he interjected with a smile. "Charming is your mother's nickname for me. Another long story," he added, smiling.

"Thank god!" Emma said, causing the three of them to burst into a much needed fit of laughter. It was short-lived, but afterward they all took a deep breath and felt much better for it.

"It may take me a while to get used to using your real names," Emma commented with a smile.

"It's understandable, Emma," James started, "this will all take some getting used to, especially for you. To us, you are our daughter, to you, Snow is your best friend, and I am just an acquaintance. What was taken from us can't be fully restored with the breaking of the curse. I wish it could be, but twenty-eight years has passed for you, while for us we have remained frozen in time. We remember the last twenty-eight years here in Storybrooke, but most of it is hazy, as if it didn't really happen."

"Nothing becomes clear until the moment you arrived in town," Snow added at Emma's confused expression. "We're not sure why, it must be an effect of the curse."

A low rumble off in the distance of the woods interrupted their reunion, and they all turned to look. A faint green glow could be seen, and Emma felt a knot form in her stomach. Rumpelstiltskin. Part of her wanted to stay here with her family and begin to get to know who they really were, what their stories were, but she couldn't, not yet.

Reaching for Snow and James' hands, she had to start thinking of them as those people, she grasped their hands she said, "I am so happy you two are my parents, and I want nothing more than to get to know both of you, but I have to go," she explained regretfully, her gaze dancing between the two.

"The purple fog," Snow said matter-of-factly, "it's not over yet is it?" Emma could clearly see the fear in her eyes, fear for her daughter.

"The blue fairy told me Rumpelstiltskin has brought magic back to Storybrooke, and he means to take Regina's powers and in doing so become the most powerful being on this planet."

Snow's eyes were wide with incredulity, "And the blue fairy wants _you _to stop him! How can you-."

"That's exactly what I asked, and she gave me this," Emma pulled the ring on the chain from under her shirt and held it up for them to see, "she told me she gave it magical powers and that when I needed it most it would help me."

"A ring?" Snow commented with confusion, "She gave you a ring? I don't understand why she'd give you a ring. In our world that means-." The words caught in Snow's throat, her face going white.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked, concerned by the abrupt change of demeanour.

"You're going to find Regina aren't you?" Snow asked, almost sounding fearful of the answer.

"Yes. I have to stop Rumpelstiltskin from taking her abilities." Emma could scarcely believe she was talking about magical abilities like it was a run of the mill occurrence.

"Emma...-." Snow started, but then stopped, taking a deep breath before continuing, "I know Regina and you were always fighting over Henry and constantly butting heads since your arrival here, it was obvious there was no love lost on your side or hers, but did you," Snow stopped again, almost seeming to choke on the words, "did you and she have a _deeper _relationship of some sort?"

Emma could not have stopped the blush starting to flush her cheeks if she'd tried. Her face suddenly felt as if it were on fire. Never in her past had any of her relationships ever embarrassed her or brought her shame, but this was different. This was her mother finding out about her relationship with her worst enemy. Emma couldn't imagine anything more awkward. She tried to come up with some type of explanation, but the words that came tumbling out of her mouth fell woefully short.

"I-I, I mean how did you-, I never said anything to-."

Mercifully Snow stopped her rambling by holding up a hand that was visibly shaking; she was also swallowing convulsively as if she might be sick at any moment. Emma could only imagine how much of a shock this was for her. She still had no idea how Snow knew of her and Regina's relationship, she'd been clued in somehow by the ring the blue fairy had given her, but damned if she could figure out the connection. She couldn't make sense of anything about magic or this other world they came from. She was just doing what she had to do right now, and trusting that those around her were telling her the truth. Another miracle in itself as she had never trusted anyone at face value before, always needing proof or facts to back up their claims, but honestly she'd seen enough - and she had a sinking feeling she was going to see a _lot_ more before all was said and done.

Emma chanced a quick glance over to James who had also become white as a sheet. She was afraid both of them might pass out, and she struggled for something to say to offer some sort of comfort - but what words could she offer to comfort this? First they have their memories restored of their past lives, remembering they lost a daughter and twenty-eight years of her life to this curse only to, a short time later, discover that their beloved daughter, the saviour, is or at least has been, involved with the very woman who had damned them. Really, they're taking it better than I would, Emma thought to herself with a self-deprecating chuckle she didn't give voice to.

"What are you two talking about?" Henry piped up curiously from below them, "What's deeper between you and my mom?"

Emma made a choking sound, and Snow covered her face with her hand, tears beginning to form again. James took her in his arms and whispered something to her that Emma couldn't hear.

"Henry, go get my bag out of the back seat." Emma ordered him, not wanting him to hear anymore of the conversation, fearing for what he'd already heard. She breathed a sigh of relief when he did as requested, and turned her attention back to Snow and James.

"Guess you're not so proud of me now, huh?" Emma stated, shrugging her shoulders and putting her hands in her pockets, looking at the ground. She couldn't help but feel like she'd done something very wrong. It was crazy; she'd only known they were her parents for all of a few hours, and already she felt like she was in trouble with them; she really, really wished she didn't care about that fact as much as she did.

James took a deep breath before speaking, his eyes still glistening with tears, but at least he wasn't crying. "We're still just as proud of you as ever. What you've done for all of us, you truly are our saviour."

"I don't feel like a saviour. I just feel like a woman who did what she had to do to save her kid," Emma stated honestly.

"And that's what truly makes you a hero," Snow, chimed in, wiping her eyes and smiling at her. Emma opened her mouth to object to the term, but Snow kept talking, so she shut up. "How did you, I mean, when did you and Regina become..._closer_?"

"It's not what you think," Emma started to explain, "we were never really in a relationship," Emma closed her eyes in horror when she realized how much worse that sounded.

"Do you mean to say she forced you somehow?" James spoke up, his voice becoming angry at the very idea. "Did she enchant you with magic?"

"No!" Emma shouted before she could stop herself, the very idea sounding absurd, but then part of her started to wonder... Regina did have magic; at least she'd had enough to curse that turnover, but no, surely not. After all, if Regina had wanted to put a spell on her, she would have chosen one that would have made their meetings less...antagonistic and made Emma more malleable. No, she couldn't blame what happened between them on magic, and she found she didn't want to. Whatever had happened between them, whatever there was between them, it was been real.

"No," Emma stated again, softer this time, but just as firmly. "Regina didn't put a spell on me or force me to do anything. What I mean is that it was very complicated and-,"

"_Was_?" Snow interrupted. Emma could swear she heard a hint of hope in her tone.

"The details were never defined. It wasn't a healthy relationship, and when we last parted, well, I'm pretty sure we both thought that whatever was between us was over."

"But?" James asked.

"But I don't know." Emma answered honestly. "I don't have any answers for you or myself."

"But the fairy gave you the ring." Snow pointed out, as if that answered everything.

Emma quirked her eyebrow, "So?"

She watched with growing irritation as Snow and James exchanged a look, but said nothing.

"Do you know what this ring means?" Emma tucked the ring back under her shirt. "If you know what it means, tell me!" she demanded, sick of the double talk.

"Tell her nothing."

Emma whirled around and saw the blue fairy a few feet from them.

"What the hell!" Emma burst out, she was so sick of this! She was willing to do what needed to be done, but surely knowing what the ring meant wasn't going to hurt anything. She whirled back to Snow and James. "Tell me what it means, damn it!"

"They can't, Emma. You need to figure out what it means on your own, or the ring and the magic held within it will be useless. It will be up to you whether or not to use it, whether or not what you must use it for will be worthy of it. If you are told in advance, it will cloud your judgement."

"Oh, well isn't that just fucking great!" Emma yelled, kicking the car tire.

"I understand your frustration, but you will understand when the time comes why you couldn't be told," the blue fairy explained calmly.

"Well excuse me if until then I am seriously pissed off by it!"

"Time is running out Emma, you need to go find Regina _now_. There will be time for your anger later," the blue fairy continued, voice becoming more urgent.

"Be careful, Emma!" Henry said, running to her and throwing his arms around her. That effectively muted her growing anger, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders in return.

"I will, I promise," she told him, bending over to place a kiss on his head.

"Let us go with her!" Snow begged from behind her, voice desperate.

Turning to her Emma said, "I need you to watch Henry for me. He means as much to me as I mean to you, and I need to know he's safe."

"Of course we will," Snow responded, eyes watering as she embraced Emma again.

Emma caught Snow's gaze when the hug ended and looked at James as well to include him in what she was about to say. "I know who Regina is and what she's done, but I also know a different side to her, maybe who she was when she cared for you is still buried somewhere under her hatred and pain," Emma offered, looking at Snow. "I don't really have an explanation for how I feel other than that I do, but believe me when I say I am not blind to what she has done, there, or here and part of me wants to see her punished as much as you do, but the other part of me-."

"I understand," Snow interrupted, and then let out a short bark of confused laughter, "Ok, I don't really, but I understand that you feel as you do, and now that we've found you again nothing will come between us."

Emma gave a thankful smile while saying, "I love you all," and met the gazes of Snow, Henry and James as she got in her car, "And when I get back, we have a lot of catching up to do."

"If you need anything-," James started.

"I'll radio," Emma said with a smile, holding up her talkie.

"I hope you're right about Regina," Snow said, her tone giving away her doubts.

"So do I," Emma replied, and started up her car. She gave them all one last encouraging smile before putting the car in gear and speeding off towards Regina's house.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: ****Ok, here is a chapter I think you'll all enjoy! Finally getting to the heavy parts in the story! Huge thanks to my beta reader and friend SwansandQueens for helping out and putting up with me! **

**EMMA**

Emma came screeching around the corner in her little yellow bug, mounting the curb and braking to a whiplash worthy stop before jumping out of the car and racing to the front door which was already open, causing her to swallow hard in fear. Regina would never leave her door open unless something was wrong. The Sheriff's adrenaline started to pump impossibly faster as an image came unbidden to her mind of someone holding Regina captive inside her own house, punishing her for the crimes she'd committed against them.

"REGINA!" Emma yelled, running inside and looking around frantically. She was met with silence and the sight of a broken mirror in the hallway.

'Fuck!' she thought, 'I'm too late!' Maybe Rumpelstiltskin had already tracked her down and was doing something unspeakable to her within these very walls. Her mind urged caution, but her heart urged action; she flew up the stairs, taking them two and three at a time, her heart feeling like it was going to explode from her chest at the dread twisting in her gut.

Barrelling into Henry's room, she frantically looked around, hoping to see Regina safe and sound, but all that met her gaze was another broken mirror. Her apprehension grew as she sprinted to Regina's room and found the two mirrors in there broken, as well as the ones in the en-suite. For a sickening moment, she was convinced she was far too late and Rumpelstiltskin had already been here; maybe he'd somehow taken Regina away, and this destruction was the evidence of that - but as she left Regina's room and checked the others, she found the mirrors were broken in all the rooms of the house. However, that was the _only_ damage Emma could see, and knowing Regina as she did, there is no way she would have been taken anywhere without a fight, a fight that would have left behind a lot more damage than broken mirrors, especially now that she had magical abilities.

Nearing the front door again she sighed, running her fingers through her hair.

"What the hell would have caused all the mirrors to break?" she wondered aloud to herself, and then it came to her, something Regina had told her only a week ago, though considering everything that had happened since, the time felt much longer.

Emma had stayed the night after one of their encounters, but this time instead of speeding off in her car early in the morning, she waited until Henry had left for school and went back inside. She didn't know why she was doing it. They had just started to re-establish their pattern after Emma had stayed away from Regina for those five days, and what she was doing now was surely breaking it again; but she couldn't fight the overwhelming urge she had to go back inside.

Quietly she slipped inside the front door and climbed the steps that would lead her back to Regina's bedroom. She thought about tapping lightly on the door before entering, but at the last minute decided against it, choosing instead to crack the door open ever so slightly and peer inside. She had been a bit disgusted by her own behaviour, she was acting like a voyeur, and the Sheriff was about to announce her presence when she spotted Regina sitting in front of her mirror at her dressing table. The normally stoic and poised woman had such a lost and lonely look on her face, it made Emma's gut clench painfully in response. For a moment she considered closing the door and softly slinking out of the house again, but then she noticed a lone tear escape down Regina's cheek, and she found herself rushing over, kneeling before the broken looking woman, taking her elegant hand in her own and squeezing it.

"Regina, what's wrong?" she asked, voice worried, her eyes searching Regina for any sign of harm.

"Miss Swan!" Regina said in surprise, her eyes turning hard as she snatched her hand away and wiped the errant tear from her cheek, "What are you doing here?"

Emma watched as Regina's walls once again closed the brunette off, the older woman standing up and clutching her silk robe around herself. Emma sighed with resignation. Why had she thought the Mayor would confide anything in her?

"Answer me!" Regina demanded, glaring at Emma who was now kneeling in front of an empty chair.

"Jesus Christ, Regina!" Emma started, standing up, frustrated beyond belief that a simple act of kindness was turning into another angry confrontation, "I wanted to see you again, ok! I don't know why the hell I did," she said, throwing her hands in the air, "and when I came in, you," Emma faltered here, remembering how broken Regina had looked, "you looked-,"

"I'm perfectly fine, Miss Swan, thank you," Regina interrupted, her tone icy.

"Yeah?" Emma stalked toward Regina until she was well within her personal space, the Mayor took a faltering step back at the intensity in Emma's gaze, "If you're so fine, then why were you crying?"

Regina scoffed derisively at her, "I wasn't crying."

"Then explain why-,"

"Miss Swan," the Mayor cut in, her tone biting, "I don't need to explain anything to you. You barged into my house; you snuck into my bedroom where you proceeded to spy on me. If anyone should be explaining themselves, it should be you. Just because you're the Sheriff doesn't give you the right to-,"

Emma closed what small distance remained between them, grabbing Regina by the arms. A look of shock flashed across the Mayor's face before Emma pulled her against her body, crushing their lips together in what started out as one of the typical, rough kisses they often shared. At first Regina struggled as she frequently did, pretending to be outraged by the blonde's behaviour, but this time instead of biting Emma's lip and shoving her tongue forcefully inside, she fell against the taller woman, allowing Emma to hold her as they kissed. Soon the kiss lost its angry edge, but certainly not its passion as Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's neck, her nails scraping lightly over the younger woman's scalp as she dragged her fingers through blonde tresses, gripping handfuls of hair tightly, but not enough to cause pain. Emma brought one hand up to the back of Regina's head, holding her there while the other circled her waist as she gently ran her tongue along the brunette's moist lips. Regina moaned and accepted readily, caressing Emma's tongue with her own as they continued to press tightly against each other, trying to get impossibly closer, neither feeling that they were close enough.

As the kiss continued to intensify Emma started to move them towards the bed…until her phone started ringing loudly in her pocket. She would have ignored it, but it startled them both, their kiss ending as abruptly as it had begun. Only now they were both struggling to catch their breath as they gazed at each other. Now that their senses were returning, they were both stunned by how soft the kiss had become. Instead of biting at each other and fighting for dominance, they had each given over a part of themselves to the other in that kiss, and they could see the fear of what that meant reflected in each other's eyes.

"Aren't you going to answer that, Sheriff?" Regina asked. Emma saw the use of her title for what it was; Regina trying to erect the boundaries between them again.

Emma said nothing in response but reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone, fumbling and almost dropping it before hitting the answer button.

"Sheriff Swan," she answered, schooling her voice to betray none of her internal conflict as Regina turned away from her. "Yeah, ok, I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Duty calls." Regina commented as she turned back to Emma, once again fully composed.

Emma, however, was still shaking inside from what they'd just shared. She chose to ignore the flippant comment and walked to Regina, placing her hand on her cheek.

"If you need me, call," she told her tenderly, smiling when brown eyes softened at her words.

Before Regina could open her mouth and ruin the moment, Emma turned to leave, but just as she was about to close the bedroom door behind her, Regina spoke up.

"Sometimes your own reflection holds a truth you'd rather not see, Emma," she said quietly as she stepped into the en-suite, shutting the door behind her.

That had been the first and only time Regina had ever used her first name, to confide in her a painful truth. It had in fact been the last time they had been together without wanting to hurt each for some reason, because that same day is when Kathryn had reappeared and everything started to unravel. Bending down, Emma picked up a shard of broken glass, catching her own gaze in it. It now held new meaning, speaking volumes to her of the pain Regina must be in for her to shatter every mirror in the house.

"Hold on Regina," Emma said, tossing the glass to the floor, "I _will_ find you!" she vowed, sprinting back to her car.

'Where the hell could she have gone?' Emma asked herself as she got behind the wheel and started the engine.

The sky was beginning to darken as dusk approached and a flash of green followed by a flash of purple caught her attention. It was coming from the direction of the forest, and immediately Emma knew that's where she would find her. Gunning the engine, she pushed the little car as fast as it would go as she hit the road that would take her to Regina. She had no idea how she was going to help Regina fight Gold, or Rumpelstiltskin, whoever the hell he was, but she would die trying if she had to. The Blue Fairy had given her this damned ring, maybe if she just pointed it at him, it would do… something! It had to work! She gripped the steering wheel in grim determination, hoping she wouldn't be too late.

**REGINA**

Appearing in the forest almost instantaneously from the moment she vanished outside her house, Regina swooped from the sky and landed gently atop a tree branch so she could watch Rumpelstiltskin. During transition, she had decided to morph into a raven, hoping to observe what the scaly bastard was doing for a few moments before he noticed she was there. However, the moment she landed, she saw his head move slightly in her direction before once again focusing on the woman he was currently arguing with: Belle.

Regina wasn't really surprised to see her here. She hadn't given her any thought, but it made sense that once the curse broke, she would seek him out, though by the sound of things, it was not a happy reunion. If she'd had lips instead of a beak at the moment, they would have curled into a wicked grin of satisfaction at the sight before her.

Rumpelstiltskin was once again his detestable green-tinged self. With the curse broken, so would be the facade of his normal appearance, and she watched with glee as Belle angrily yelled at him.

"I can't believe you've done this!" Belle shouted, voice angry and upset. "Has the last twenty-eight years taught you nothing?"

"It's taught me that without power, I will always be at the mercy of others, and that is something I will never be again!" he replied, voice strained in frustration at her lack of understanding. "Don't you see, Belle, now that I have my powers back, I can make Regina pay for what she did to you! Isn't that what you want?"

"Of course I do! But not if it means you turn into _him_ again! Before you unleashed this _magic _you were yourself, but now look at what you've become!" she choked out, gesturing at his appearance.

"Am I really so hideous like this? Can you not love me unless I look like a normal man?"

"If I had no choice, of course I would! But I do have a choice, _you_ have a choice," she emphasized.

"A choice I don't have to make! I can have my power and have you," Rumpelstiltskin told her, lips curling into a smile.

"No, you can't," Belle said, "You didn't have to put that potion in the well. I was already here, I remembered. We could have been together, but once again you chose power over me, over love," she told him, her eyes wet with unshed tears.

"Belle," he started, taking a step toward her.

"No," she said, holding up her hand to stop him, her tears now falling, "I won't come in second place to your desire for power. If that's what you want, then you can have it, but you can't have me."

Regina's sharp eyes watched as Rumpelstiltskin made to step toward her again, as he tried to plead with her to reconsider, to stay with him, but Belle continued to walk away, and the foolish imp did not follow. Regina was not expecting what came next.

As soon as Belle was out of sight, Rumpelstiltskin turned to the tree she was perched in and fired a bolt of green energy at the branch she was sitting on. It blew apart into shards on impact, sending her tumbling to the forest floor before she spread her wings to regain her balance. He fired a couple more times, and she adeptly avoided the green beams before quickly returning to her own form and firing a purple stream that connected with him solidly in the chest, knocking him off his feet.

"Is that any way to greet an old friend?" Regina mocked, her voice cold and hard. She prepared herself for another volley from him, but instead he slowly sat up and started laughing that maniacal little laugh of his that always made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. After a few seconds, it died off and he spoke.

"I should kill you for what you did to Belle," he told her, brushing off his pants and standing up, "but that wouldn't really get either of us what we want, now would it?"

"All I want is for you to die, you bastard," she spat at him, voice controlled but angry, "You risked my son's life for this!"

"Uh, uh, ah, dearie," he interrupted, shaking his finger at her, "not your son, the saviour's son. Emma's son."

Regina wanted nothing more than to turn him to stone right then, but she fought it, she needed to know some things first. Things she had suspected for a while, but didn't want to believe could be true.

She stared at him, her eyes burning with black fury, "You planned all of this, didn't you!"

He grinned at her, a malicious, hateful grin that confirmed every suspicion she had about him. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean, dearie," he taunted.

Enraged, she strode toward him. "You planned this all from the beginning, didn't you! You risked my son's life as well as Emma's just so you could get your hands on that damned potion you hid within Maleficent. Why?" she demanded, her gaze drilling into him.

"Why, my dear, I'd think if Emma _had _died, it would have solved all your problems," but at this she noticed his smile widen, rotten teeth becoming more visible as his foul breath washed over her, "then again, you've always had a soft spot for dear _Miss Swan_, haven't you?"

Regina's eyes narrowed, turning impossibly blacker as she glared at him. "You are going to pay for what you've done to _both_ of them," she promised.

"What _I've_ done? Surely you mean what _you've_ done. After all, you're the one who used the last bit of your precious magic to retrieve that apple," at this his eyes lit up, "I wonder what your precious Daniel would think of what you've become?"

Regina stumbled back, feeling as if he'd struck her with his power.

"Yes, indeed, I do have to wonder what your kind, soft-hearted stable boy would think of you now. I should think he would be rather horrified that you've turned out just like your mother," Rumpelstiltskin continued to taunt with glee, his voice becoming crueller with every word, "or a pale imitation really. After all Cora always understood love was a weakness, but it took her years to beat that message into you."

Regina felt as if she couldn't breathe, what was he saying? How did he know her mother? How did he know about Daniel? With every word, she kept stepping away from him, but he kept coming, staying close to her, his voice becoming softer now as if trying to draw her in. Her mind felt as if it was coming apart, and she brought her hands to her head, clutching it as her eyes closed.

"But killing Daniel definitely seemed to do the trick!" He exclaimed, clapping his hands together once in glee, "You truly were magnificent in your hatred of Snow for all those years, but coming here has made you weak again. Your love for Henry and Emma Swan has made you soft and pathetic, but don't worry dear, soon I will rid us both of the good Sheriff and-."

Regina didn't hear anything after that, her eyes snapped open, and she felt her head clear. Before Rumpelstiltskin could even register the abrupt change in her demeanour, she had her hands in front of her, pushing out with a bolt of energy that threw him halfway across the clearing they were standing in. She didn't let him have time to summon a defence as she raised her hands and then brought them forward, the tree branches now moving under her power as she wrapped them around his struggling form.

"Don't you dare speak of her!" she shouted at him, gliding toward him. Her eyes appeared to glow with her power, "I will see you dead before you touch her!"

Squeezing her hands into fists, she watched with pleasure as the branches around him tightened in response, one going around his neck. Turning her head, she spotted a branch that looked like a spear and sent it hurtling toward his mid-section, but before it would impact, he was gone.

"Really dearie, did you think it would be so easy?" He mocked from where he now stood behind her.

She had no time to form a response as she felt something fly into her back, sending her crashing into a nearby tree. She could feel blood as her lip split, but she healed it instantly, turning back to face him.

"This really is pointless, you know," he told her, "There is no way either of us can destroy the other, our powers are too well matched."

"Then I will spend eternity fighting you if that's what it takes to keep you away from those I love!" she snarled at him, sending nearby spear-shaped branches flying at him.

Rumpelstiltskin raised a hand in front of them, and they fell harmlessly to the forest floor.

"This is exactly what I was talking about, dearie, look what love has done to you. Not only has it made you soft, it's made you stupid!"

Regina tried to ignore him, sending pulse after pulse of her magic at him along with whatever she could find in the forest, only to have him deflect it all effortlessly.

"Is this really how you want to spend eternity? We could rule this new world together! There is nothing we couldn't do here!"

"I am through ruling!" Regina raged at him, "All I want is to see you suffer!"

"Enough!" Rumpelstiltskin shouted after a few more minutes of the direct assault Regina was raining down on him.

Too blinded by her rage, Regina didn't see the large rock he had summoned behind her until it was too late, and it connected solidly with her skull. She fell to the forest floor struggling to stay conscious.

"That was always your problem, Regina," he began, "you always let your feelings rule your actions. Though I must admit it has made manipulating you over the years far easier than I anticipated it would be."

Regina brought her hand to touch the back of her head and winced in pain, the bastard had gotten in a damn good shot, and it was healing slower than normal. If she hadn't had her powers restored to her, it would have killed her instantly. She smothered a groan as she watched his boots come in and out of view as he walked in a circle around her.

"I must admit, out of all the deals I've made, the deal to have you was my masterpiece, well, besides what I'm about to do that is," he added, giggling in that high pitched, maniacal way he had.

"What are you talking about?" she ground out, finally looking up at him as her wound finished healing and the dizziness cleared.

He crouched down before her, a wide grin splitting his demented face, "Haven't you figured it out yet, dearie? I. Own. You."

Regina looked at him as if he had sprouted another head. "Are you insane? Have you finally lost what miniscule grip you had left on reality?"

In response, he laughed, high and long, sounding exactly like the insane creature she accused him of becoming.

"Let me explain it to you, your Majesty," he began, his tone condescending as he spoke her title, "Almost sixty years ago I met your dear mother," he began, his voice a sing-song of delight, "I won't bore you with all the details, but she was tired of being poor, and I promised her riches in exchange for her first-born," he finished, his eyes shining as he pointed a scaly finger at her, "You."

Regina couldn't hide the undisguised look of horror that came over her face as she stared at him.

"I can see you're finally starting to catch on dearie," he giggled as he stood up.

Regina shook her head, the implications of what he told her flooding her mind. Her whole life, everything, it had all been because of him; not just manipulating her into using the curse and bringing them here, but _everything_.

"Of course I couldn't take away your free will, it would have been much easier that way," he kept talking as he walked around her, "so when you fell in love with your precious stable boy, I had no choice but to make sure that little union never took place. You would have been completely useless to me happy! In fact, your mother killing him was really the best thing that could have happened. After that little problem was out of the way, everything went perfectly!" The evil grin dropped from his face, "Until now. Once again, love is making you weak. The first lesson obviously didn't stick."

"You son of a bitch!" Regina screamed at him, coming to her feet, "You twisted little bastard! You destroyed my whole life! You destroyed me!" She raged, raising her hands and tossing him against a nearby tree.

He shook off the impact, coming to his feet easily, and shook his head at her.

"You made the choices, dearie, I only suggested which direction to go in," he grinned, flicking his wrist and sending her flying twenty feet away. "But now I've had my use of you, you've brought me here, and it's time to dispose of you. But before I do that, there is something I want from you."

"You've already taken everything from me! I have nothing left!" she shouted at him, her expression stricken. "Why did you do this to me? Just to come to this world?"

For a brief moment Rumpelstiltskin's expression changed to that of pain, but it was gone as quickly as it had come, "I had a son once, he came to this world. I wanted to find him," his expression turned hard, "but it's too late. He is dead and with his death so dies the last remaining shred of humanity I may have had left." His dark gaze focused on her, chilling her with its intensity, "Now give me what I want."

"You've already taken everything from me!" Regina repeated, her voice still full of hatred for him as she climbed to her feet.

"Oh, that's where you're wrong. You still have the most important thing."

"I don't know what you're-,"

"Your powers, dearie," he interjected, "I want your powers; your magic!" he emphasized, waving his finger in the air, eyes gleaming.

"Don't do it, Regina!" Emma yelled, running into the clearing and charging toward Rumpelstiltskin, her fist extended.

"Emma!" Regina shouted, voice filled with shock and fear for the foolish woman, _"What the hell are you doing?"_ Did she really think she could stop Rumpelstiltskin with her fist! "Get away from him!"

"I wondered when _you'd_ turn up, dearie," Rumpelstiltskin said, turning to Emma and raising his hand to send her hurtling through the forest, but in the blink of an eye Regina was in front of him, sending him tumbling through the air.

Regina turned around to face Emma, who was staring at her in shock. Emma's awe-struck gaze travelled from where she'd flung Rumpelstiltskin, back to Regina where she proceeded to eye the woman's regal new clothes with the same expression. "How did you-," Emma began.

"What are you doing here? You need to get out of here now! He'll kill you!" Regina interrupted, voice rising with alarm.

"You look so different," Emma muttered, still stunned.

Regina grabbed her by the arms, shaking her once, "We don't have time for this now! Get out of here before he kills you!"

Emma shook her head slightly, refocusing her attention while meeting Regina's gaze and responding, "No! I heard what he did to you, what he took from you; I won't let him hurt you anymore! I'm not leaving you!"

Regina's eyes softened, filling with shock and disbelief, her arms falling to her sides despite the urgency of her current situation; no one had ever cared enough about her to make such a declaration. A smile began to form on her lips, and she couldn't hide the glimmer of love shining out from within the depths of her dark eyes for this incredibly brave and incredibly foolish woman. Emma smiled - tentatively, nervously - and for the first time, Regina dared to believe she saw the same look of love reflected back at her.

"Sometimes you need to see yourself in another's eyes to truly know the worth of your own reflection," Emma whispered, her fingers gently wiping away a tear from Regina's cheek.

Regina stepped closer, her fingers entwining with Emma's. "Emma, I'm so sorry, for _so_ much," she apologized, as she moved to kiss her, but before she could, she heard another voice she never thought she'd hear again.

"MOM!" Henry shouted.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Huge thanks to SwansandQueens for beta reading and for your added in-depth description of the black/white magic stuff! Hope everyone has enjoyed reading so far. Only a few more chapters to go! Feel free to review if you want to or not!

**REGINA**

Regina's eyes widened in shock as she watched Henry run towards her and Emma.

"Henry!" They shouted in unison. Regina felt a surge of renewed panic overwhelm her. She'd hit that bastard with everything she had, seeing Emma running towards him like that had caused her to put everything she felt into that strike against him, but it wouldn't keep him down for long. Now the only two people she loved in the world were within his reach.

"What are you doing here, Henry?" Emma yelled, her voice also filled with panic.

Regina turned to Emma, "You need to take him and get out of here! He will kill you both!"

Her attention was drawn back to Henry when he once again yelled out, "Mom!" before running right into her and wrapping his arms around her torso. Regina had assumed that Henry was calling out to Emma, not to her, but here he was, hugging _her _and calling _her_ his mother. The brunette's emotions threatened to overwhelm her as she knelt down in front of the boy, her eyes watering.

"Henry," she started, her voice catching as she suppressed a sob of joy. "I thought I'd never see you again." Tentatively, she reached out and took his hand, afraid he'd recoil from her and snatch it back, but instead he smiled at her brightly.

"I'm sorry mom, I love you, too!" he declared, the simple statement shattering Regina's hold over her emotions and causing a sob to escape her throat as she wrapped him up in a tight embrace.

Regina leaned into Emma when she felt the younger woman against her, kneeling next to them, her arms encircling them. For a moment, for one brief moment, Regina let herself feel happiness and love, surrounded by her family. _Family_ she thought to herself, something she thought she would never truly have, and yet here they both were, everything she needed in the world. They were everything that made her feel whole, filling an emptiness in her soul she thought beyond repair; smothering a darkness she thought so black as to be eternal.

"Henry, what are you doing here?" Emma asked again, her voice also choked with emotion, "I told you to stay with Mary Mar – Snow White."

"I know, and I'm sorry," Henry replied, looking sheepish, "Snow White and Prince Charming were busy talking with everyone in town, and I snuck away. I had to find you! Rumpelstiltskin is dangerous! He-"

Regina opened her mouth to scold Henry for coming into such a dangerous situation, but a hateful, mocking voice from behind her stopped her, bringing her back to the cold reality of their situation.

"Well, isn't this family reunion so _touching_," Rumpelstiltskin spat with contempt, "The poor Evil Queen finally finds her happy ending."

"She's not evil! You are!" Henry shouted at him causing Rumpelstiltskin to sneer at him and raise his finger in his direction.

"Don't you dare," Regina warned as she stood up, gathering Emma and Henry behind her, trying to shield them with her own body from whatever the bastard imp might try to do to them. Her dark eyes once again became black as she glared with hatred at the scaly green man. Her first instinct was to attack him immediately, but she feared too much for what could happen to Emma and Henry; she was better to take a defensive stance this time, and hope she could hold him off long enough for them to get away. She turned to tell Emma to get ready to grab Henry and run, when she heard a loud crashing coming from behind Rumpelstiltskin.

Moments later, Snow White and Prince Charming came hurtling through the forest and into the clearing followed by at least two dozen other townspeople; and there was no doubt in her mind it was Snow White and Prince Charming she was seeing now. Gone were the docile, weak, controllable people she had made them into when she brought them here and took away their happy endings; the fire had returned to their eyes, along with their courage.

Behind them, she watched with growing surprise as Red and her grandmother, Geppeto, Cinderella and her Prince, as well as Snow White's dwarf friends and who she knew to be the fairies were gathering around them. More people from town kept assembling behind them until Regina lost count. Regina should have been terrified at their presence, fearing what they would want to do to her, but she found she was glad they were there. They may despise her and want her dead, but they all cared about Emma and Henry. It gave her some consolation to know that if she failed to keep them safe, there was an entire town of people who would also die to protect them.

The other's looked to Snow for guidance, and Regina observed the woman she once hated above all else in the world step forward. She was surprised to find the all-consuming hatred she'd carried with her for so long concerning this woman felt now like only a dying ember. There was still a sense of betrayal when she looked at her, but Regina understood now that if she had been manipulated by her mother and Rumpelstiltskin all these years, then how could she keep blaming Snow for also falling prey to their machinations? After all, she had already taken everything from Snow, and in doing so had felt no better for it. She'd wasted her life in the pursuit of revenge – revenge on the wrong person, and now, if she had to, she would die in the pursuit of love.

Recovering from the shock of seeing the clearing suddenly fill with people, Regina turned to shove Emma and Henry toward the group, but found herself a moment too late as Rumpelstiltskin flicked his wrist and sent them both out of her reach. She watched in horror, her heart breaking, as he materialized rope around their bodies, holding them captive next to him.

She raised her hand to try to free them, but stopped when Rumpelstiltskin held up his hand and squeezed it into a fist, tightening the ropes around them which caused them both to cry out in pain.

"Stop hurting them!" Regina and Snow screamed out at the same time, their voices filled with desperation and anguish. Regina turned to find Snow now standing next to her, their gazes meeting as they shared a moment of understanding before shifting their attention back to Rumpelstiltskin. Regina held no foolish notions that all was forgiven between them, but for now they had the same purpose, to keep their family safe, a family they now had in common, whether they wanted to or not. Regina remembered a time when Snow had wanted nothing more than to have Regina as family; how ironic it was that almost forty years later Snow's daughter would be the one to bring them together again.

"Oh, how touching!" the demented man mocked, his voice disgusted, "the greatest of enemies united in their love for their family."

"If you hurt them, I will make sure you suffer endlessly even after you are dead," Regina promised him, her voice dripping with hatred.

"Whether I hurt them or not is up to you, dearie."

"What do you want?"

"I already told you - your powers." He responded, giggling inanely to himself.

"Don't do it, Regina! If you give him your powers he will become more powerful than the Blue Fairy and destroy everyone!" Emma shouted.

Regina already knew that, she knew as soon as Rumpelstiltskin told her what he wanted, why he wanted it. Once upon a time her powers were all she cared about, they were always there for her, always waiting to welcome her into their embrace when she needed them. They made her powerful and untouchable, they made her strong, she would never have dreamed of giving them up, but now everything had changed. All she cared about now was Henry and Emma and their safety. Their lives came before everything else in the world to her. If sacrificing her powers was what was required to keep them from harm, she would gladly do so a thousand times over.

"Let's make a deal," she said to Rumpelstiltskin, a grin reminiscent of the old days coming to her lips as she sauntered towards him.

She heard Emma shout another warning as the townspeople began to murmur, but she couldn't make out what any of them were saying. She concentrated solely on the man who had destroyed her life and now once again wanted to take everything from her.

"I will give you my powers," she began, now standing only feet away from him, and, in turn, the Sheriff and her son, "if you promise me that you will not harm Emma, Henry or anyone else in Storybrooke."

As she lay out her terms to the giggling man, all the noise in the forest seemed to stop for several seconds. The townspeople stopped talking, Emma and Henry stopped yelling warnings to her, and everything seemed to freeze as she met a demented, almost reptilian, gaze. She repressed a shudder as she saw how well and truly severed from reality this man now was.

Rumpelstiltskin smiled at her then, a grin that made her stomach drop in dread, "Very well, _Your Majesty_, but I have a condition of my own. I will spare everyone in Storybrooke...except you." He held out his hand and an apple appeared, gleaming and red as blood, "You, my dear, will eat this and be cursed for all eternity into that sleep from which you will never awake."

"You son of a bitch!" Emma raged at him, struggling against the ropes that bound her. _He was going to kill Regina! He was going to force her to eat that apple and accept her own death! _ "Don't agree to it Regina! We'll find another way!"

Regina heard the pleading and desperation in Emma's tone. She wanted nothing more than to go to her, to hold her one last time, but she knew this odious bastard would never allow that.

Turning to Emma, she gave her a sad smile. "There is no other way. Please, take care of Henry for me."

"Mom! No! Don't do it! Please! I don't want you to die!" Henry begged her from his position beside Emma.

Regina couldn't hold back the few tears that escaped her eyes when she met her son's gaze and he started to cry.

"I'm sorry, Henry," she choked out, her voice catching in her throat as she said his name.

Steeling herself, she turned away from both of them and faced Rumpelstiltskin once again.

"Very well," she answered him, her voice devoid of emotion as she accepted her fate. She would not give this man the satisfaction of seeing fear when he looked into her eyes for the last time.

"Then it's done!" he crowed, cackling insanely and clapping his hands together in triumph.

"Nooooo!" Emma screamed as the deal was struck.

Rumpelstiltskin closed the remaining distance between them and proffered the apple in his right hand to her. "Now eat."

The sick irony of her predicament was not lost on Regina as she recalled a similar moment so many years ago with Snow White, only she had been the one giving Snow a choice that really wasn't a choice at all: your life or the lives of those you love. When Snow had accepted the apple readily, taking a bite from it with defiance in her eyes, Regina had thought her a fool for choosing love over her own life, she had said sacrifice was over-rated, but now she understood all too well the sacrifice Snow had willingly made, and with that clarity came remorse, a remorse for what she had done to Snow in her misguided quest for revenge. But it was too late for regrets and apologies that would change nothing.

With as much regal dignity as she had ever shown in her other world, Regina took the apple from Rumpelstiltskin and noticed it resembled one from her own tree, before it had gone rotten. Such a beautiful apple tree it had been, a beauty that had been abused and used to bring nothing but pain. Her lips curved slightly into a regretful smile as she thought the same could be said of her. At least all of it would end now. Without another thought, she brought the glistening apple to her mouth and took a large bite. She had a moment to notice the usually sweet juice tasted bitter and acidic in her mouth before she swallowed it. Within moments she was struggling to breathe, her eyes widening as she sank to her knees before Rumpelstiltskin who was howling with maniacal laughter. Then he was laying his hands on her chest, ripping her powers away from her, and a raw scream of pain came tearing from her throat as she felt like she was being ripped apart. Vaguely she could hear Emma screaming and Henry begging Rumpelstiltskin to stop hurting his mom.

Regina recoiled as he leaned over her, saying, "Looks like you won't get your happy ending after all."

Another scream ripped from her throat as she felt her mind tear itself in two, and her world went black.

**EMMA**

"**REGINA!"** Emma screamed, the name ripped from her throat that had already gone hoarse from shouting at Rumpelstiltskin.

The moment Regina's eyes closed and her body hit the forest floor, Emma felt the hold on her release and she sprinted to where the woman had fallen. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she fell to her knees and gathered the limp body in her arms.

"Regina," she whispered, her voice breaking as her trembling fingers moved strands of brown hair off her face, "Regina, please," she begged as she felt for a pulse.

When she couldn't find one on her neck, she grabbed her wrist in desperation, but she already knew it wasn't going to yield a better result. She tried to hold it together when Henry ran over and fell on his mother's body, screaming for her to wake up and come back to him. She needed to be strong for him, but she couldn't stop the flood of her own emotions as they engulfed her. Thankfully Snow came over and Henry rushed into her arms, sobs racking his small body as he buried his head against her. Emma's gaze met Snow's – her mother's – and was surprised to see tears in her eyes as well.

"She's-she's g-gone," Emma choked out between sobs, her body shaking uncontrollably. Emma didn't pull away when she felt Snow wrap an arm around her, the other still holding a crying Henry.

Emma looked down at the body in her arms, Regina still looked as beautiful as ever, even in death. The last thought brought with it fresh tears and a wail of anguish as she clutched the body against her. She had failed. Again. Regina was dead, because she, Emma, hadn't been fast enough, hadn't been strong enough, and so the woman who was supposed to be the most evil in all the land had sacrificed herself for all of them. She looked at the ring she wore on her finger, damning herself for ever thinking it would hold any sort of power to stop him.

She had come within ear shot of the two battling each other just when Rumpelstiltskin told Regina he owned her. Emma had listened with growing horror and understanding as he explained to Regina exactly how he had destroyed her life and shaped her into the dark woman she'd become. Emma's heart broke for her, causing rage to grow, and she'd run into the clearing, wearing the ring on her finger and pointing it at the now horrible looking man.

Looking up from Regina's body, a darkness settled over Emma's features, her eyes which were red and wet with grief, hardening. "Rumpelstiltskin," she said with venom, her rage consuming her as she gently set Regina's body down and stood up, facing the creature who was grinning at her with evil glee.

"You son of a bitch!" she yelled, grabbing her father's sword from the man who was standing nearby, and before James or Snow could stop her, she was running towards Rumpelstiltskin, sword raised, "I'll fucking kill you!"

The blonde heard a number of people shout her name as she charged the grinning man, but she didn't heed their warnings, all she could think of doing was sliding the blade into his midsection. She wanted him dead.

She was only ten feet from him now, so close to victory, but she came to a stumbling halt as the man's face suddenly went slack and he doubled over, screaming out in pain as he did so. She had no time to wonder at the cause of his torment as he fell to the ground, writhing in agony. A sudden flash of energy rose from his body, the center of it pitch black and opaque, the outer edges of it white and smoky. The energy pulsed and swirled, hovering some twenty feet above them. As Emma watched, the white smoke began to snake tendrils of flashing light throughout the black center, the blackness reacting with a loud crackling as the forest floor shook. Emma had never seen anything like it, never imagined anything like it. It was almost hypnotizing to watch the patterns of white winding through that awful blackness. Emma started as one final, blinding flash of light rippled outwards, and then nothing was left but a few wispy trails of white smoke which dissipated to nothing. All the while, Rumpelstiltskin had lain upon the ground, his body trembling and jerking.

As the smoke slowly faded away, the tremors slowly stopped shaking him, and he struggled to sit up, gazing at his hands in disbelief. Emma heard herself and everyone around her gasp as they all saw he was no longer covered in a scaly, green skin, but once again looked just as she had known him when he was known as Mr Gold – only somehow different. Mr. Gold had never been without an all-knowing sneer, a cocky gleam in his eye, confident and condescending. This man on the ground before her was nothing like his former counterpart. He was broken and pathetic, the fight gone out of him. Emma saw fear in his eyes. This was neither the formidable Mr. Gold, nor the monster Rumpelstiltskin. _Who is he now?_ Emma wondered.

"_M-my powers!"_ he gasped as he examined himself, "wh-what's happened to my powers? I-I'm to be the most powerful being in this world!"he stuttered as he slowly turned one hand and then the other over in front of his eyes, confusion evident on his drawn features.

"Your powers are gone," the Blue Fairy said, stepping out of the crowd and coming to stand beside Emma.

"_What?_ What do you mean gone? No... NO! Give them back! How did you take them? I-I can't..." his voice trailed off as the reality of his utterly weakened state seemed to overcome him. His shoulders hunched and bowed, the heavy weight of his misdeeds settling over him even as the lust for power and quest for revenge left him completely. Emma looked on with a mix of pity and disgust, the sword dropping from her grasp. No longer was this broken, shell of a man the evil creature who had killed her Regina.

A woman with long red hair came running from the crowd and knelt beside the defeated man, taking his hands in hers, trying to console him with words Emma couldn't make out. She was surprised to find that someone here could care for this man, but then she supposed there were many people, probably all the citizens in Storybrooke, who thought the same about her concerning Regina.

Turning away, Emma stumbled back to Regina's still form, once again gathering the body in her arms. Regina still felt warm to the touch, and it would be so easy to imagine she was only asleep; but Emma knew she was gone. How could this happen? How could she have come so far only to lose so much? Her life had never been easy, and she'd always made the most of it, taking whatever life threw her way; but this? This was too much. For the first time in her life she felt truly broken, defeated, and so damn angry. In this moment, she could understand why Regina had done everything she had after losing her first love. The pain was unbearable, and the need to lash out at who she felt responsible was overwhelming, but he was gone, somehow set free from his curse while Regina had died. The gravity of the injustice overcame her, the harshness of it too much to bear.

"_WHY?"_ she yelled, her gaze meeting that of the Blue Fairy, "Why did she have to die?"

Instead of addressing only Emma, the Blue Fairy turned to the gathered crowd and spoke.

"In the moment Regina sacrificed herself for love, her magic turned from black to white. When Rumpelstiltskin took that power from her, it defeated his black magic and broke the curse which turned him, because as we all know, love is the most powerful magic of all," she finished, turning to face Emma. "You and Henry allowed Regina to overcome the blackness within her. In choosing you, she chose light over darkness, redemption over revenge."

"Then why is she dead?" Emma demanded, inconsolable, "Why did she have to die?"

The Blue Fairy smiled sympathetically, "Who said she was dead?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: First and foremost a HUGE thanks to my beta reader and friend, SwansandQueens for all her help on this chapter! It would not be what it is without her! AND she wrote the last 2 1/2 pages of this chapter herself! She had a brilliant idea and I was more than happy to let her write the end of this chapter! So feel free to contact her and tell her how much you loved it as well here: u/3833886/SwansAndQueens**

**Author's Note 2: A huge thanks to all my readers for enjoying the ride with me! It's close to being over! **

**REGINA**

Regina awoke surrounded by blackness. She lay there for a moment trying to remember what had happened, how she got here. Images flashed through her mind: Emma, eyes full of concern and worry; Henry, smiling at her and hugging her; Snow, sharing a look of shared purpose with her, and then there was Rumpelstiltskin, his high-pitched maniacal laughter filling the air and drowning out all other thought with it.

"Welcome to your hell, Your Majesty, I hope you enjoy your stay," he said, hovering above her, his eyes glowing maliciously, his evil laugh reverberating in her brain.

Regina tried to stay calm, but she could see nothing around her but inky blackness that seemed to envelope her like smoke, choking and smothering her with its finality. She tried to sit up, and, when she found she couldn't, her adrenaline soared, panic over-taking her ability to remain calm and rational. In desperation, she tried to sit up again, but still couldn't move. She tried to move her arms and legs, finding she couldn't move them either – in fact she couldn't even feel them. She couldn't feel anything physical at all; it was as if her mind were there, but no other part of her existed. She opened her mouth to see if she could speak, and no sound came out. The terrified woman could hear the words within her mind, but she had no voice!

She started screaming for help, begging for someone, anyone, to help her, but her pleas went unanswered, and soon she stopped screaming, no one was going to come and help her; the most evil and vile of Queens to ever have ruled a Kingdom. She had tormented, broken and cursed so many, how could she expect help from anyone now? She stopped struggling and gave herself over to the darkness. She reasoned whatever awaited her there could be no worse than what she was experiencing now, but soon she would find out how gravely mistaken she was. In succumbing to the darkness, she sank further into the blackness around her, into the darkest, most tormented horrors of her own imaginings. A place where her most painful memories would taunt her forever, and even the good would be twisted into something hideous and macabre.

"Help me," Regina requested quietly and with conviction, her eyes reflecting a fear and vulnerability she couldn't hide right now.

Regina was terrified she was going to lose Henry; the one good thing in her wretched life was going to be taken from her. He was going to die down in that mine all because of that damn book! She wanted so badly to place all the blame on Miss Swan, and, in large part she did. After all, if she had just left when she'd been told, she was positive Henry would not be down there now with that idiot psychologist. Why had she ever made that damn cricket a psychologist anyway! She should have just had him stay a cricket in this world, and she could have squashed his annoying face beneath the heel of her Louboutin! So yes, she blamed Miss Swan for the current situation, but she also needed her help - and it pained her to ask for it even as the words left her mouth. She knew the Deputy would help; she didn't have to worry about her plea being rejected. If she'd been asking for herself, she was positive the blonde would have told her to go to hell, but it was Henry, and, whether Regina wanted to admit it or not, Miss Swan cared for him and that meant she would do what was necessary to help him, even if in doing so she also was helping Regina.

The blonde nodded her head imperceptibly, "What do you want me to do?" she asked, her tone genuine.

Plans were made to blow a hole to enter the mine through, and Regina now waited on eggshells to see what would happen. She wrapped her arms around her torso, the dread in the pit of her stomach making her feel sick. The Mayor jumped sharply when the detonation went off, and watched with trepidation as the Deputy ran into the smoke the explosion had created. Seconds seemed like hours as she waited, then she was back, meeting Regina's gaze with regret and worry and telling her it hadn't worked. What had the explosion done then? Oh, God! She thought inwardly, I can't lose him!

Another plan was made, and again Regina found herself waiting nervously, this time while the truck removed the grate over the mine shaft. Immediately she volunteered to go down, it was her son and she would do anything to get him back safe and sound, but then the damned Deputy was in her face, telling her she should be the one to do it, that it was her son, too, and she'd have a better chance since she hadn't been sitting behind a desk all these years. The last comment rankled Regina more than the others, surprisingly, but then she saw something in the blonde's eyes, something she hadn't seen in a very, very long time. Her green eyes were open and vulnerable and, for a moment Regina felt as if she could see into the very soul of who the woman was; what she saw caused her to step forward, her own gaze softening and becoming vulnerable in turn. Within the depths of the gaze looking back at her Regina saw honesty and compassion, an inherent goodness in another human being she had not seen in so long, at least, not directed at her. The Mayor was used to meeting another's gaze and seeing deceit, greed, lust, hate, or envy, but not this, and it almost made her stumble under its intensity.

"Just bring him to me," she replied quietly, her tone desperate.

The Deputy gave her a tentative smile and a nod, turning to Graham so he could put the harness on her and lower her into the shaft. Regina remained rooted to the spot, watching the opening with growing trepidation as she waited for Miss Swan to bring her son back up unharmed. Please, let him be unharmed she thought to herself. Again, minutes ticked by like weeks, and the Mayor did her best not to think about what she'd seen in the Deputy's eyes or how it had made her feel. She already felt a pull towards the blonde, despite her best efforts not to, and she did not need another reason to take a second look at Emma Swan - she already did that enough. The brunette loathed herself for doing so, but she couldn't help but feel the unmistakable pull between them. Her base desires were awakened when she was around the woman, and she felt it was only a matter of time before she succumbed to them. It disgusted her.

Finally, they were pulling the Deputy and her son up from the shaft, and Regina ran over to greet them; all she wanted was her son in her arms. She was almost there when she noticed Emma had her head down, and Henry was lying in her arms, not moving. She watched with horror as the Deputy's head slowly raised; gone was the compassionate, honest gaze, and in its place were burning red eyes looking at her with so much hatred and revulsion Regina could feel the pulse of it within her.

"Look what you've done, Regina," the Deputy accused, her voice octaves lower than Regina had ever heard it before, "you've killed your son."

"N-No!" Regina shouted, stumbling forwards, tears filling her eyes.

Her horror grew beyond what her mind could tolerate when Henry, her beloved son, started to sit up in the blonde's arms. He had a gash running down the entire length of his face and blood sporadically dribbling from his mouth. He was ghostly white, and his eyes were black - a deep, penetrating black that covered the whites of his eyes and made him look inhuman.

"You have killed me," the thing that used to be Henry accused, "your thirst for revenge – your evil has killed me."

Regina sank to her knees, "No, I-I never wanted you to get hurt. I love you!"

"You can't love," Henry told her, "you are evil, and evil is incapable of love! All you can do is hurt and destroy those around you, just like you've done with me!" He yelled. "To be loved by you is a curse!"

"NO!" Regina screamed, tears now streaming down her cheeks. But he was right, wasn't he? She was evil, and she had hurt everyone she'd ever known. She'd killed her father in hopes of finding a way to be happy! She was everything he accused her of being and more.

The broken woman let out a terrified scream and tried to get to her feet and run, when Henry lurched from the Deputy's grip and started to drag himself toward her by his arms, his legs behind him broken and disfigured. But she couldn't get up, she couldn't move her legs. He was only inches away now when finally she could take no more, her hands going to her head, gathering fistfuls of her own hair and letting out a blood-curdling scream of horror as she felt an ice cold hand touch her leg. Then, mercifully, she felt no more as her world faded to black.

Regina awoke screaming and gasping for breath. Again she was surrounded by darkness; the same darkness she had been in before she had sank into the black depths around her and relived a memory that had changed into a nightmare. Then she remembered - the apple, the curse, this was her purgatory. She could only remember details in bits and pieces, but now she remembered taking the apple from a scaly green hand and taking a bite from it. She remembered he told her this is what awaited her, and she felt tears come to eyes she no longer had. Her body was not in this place with her, she was only a consciousness here, the only consciousness. She could think and feel, but she had no body here, that was still back in Storybrooke. She was stuck in this place alone for all eternity, with no control over her own thoughts, she realized as she once again felt a sinking sensation overtake her. She was being pulled back into the blackness, smothered again by the curse that surrounded her. This time she tried to fight it, but within seconds her sense of self was lost, and she was again pulled into another memory.

"Mother!" Regina yelled.

She watched as her mother ripped Daniel's heart from his chest. Only this time Regina was aware it was only a memory, but that brought her no comfort, if anything it made it that much worse. She wanted to run from the stables, to flee this most painful memory, but despite having a body now, she had no control over it. Regina could only watch as lips that were her own and, yet, were not, screamed out a heart wrenching "_NOOOOOO_!" and ran to the fallen body of Daniel. She demanded to know why her mother had done this heinous thing to her as she cradled the now dead young man in her arms, and was appalled when her mother told her this was her happy ending.

No! She thought to herself, this couldn't be, he couldn't be dead. Regina felt torn in two as she watched her past self try to resurrect her dead love with true love's kiss to no avail. She could feel the kiss, feel the utter heartache at the sight before her, but she couldn't do anything. Her body was not her own, and she truly did feel as if she were two different people; part of her knowing what would come next, but speaking words from her mouth as if she were re-living it all for the very first time.

She listened in horror as her mother told her love was weakness, and she could already feel part of herself dying as she lowered him back to the ground. Her mother continued, telling her power was the only real thing that mattered and, in that moment Regina had committed herself to discovering power, to forsaking love. After all, her love was dead at her feet; to forsake something that was already dead didn't matter. She would marry that bastard King, and, when she had the power of being Queen, she would banish her mother from their Kingdom, from this entire realm! She would make her suffer just as she was suffering now.

Regina thought all these things as if for the first time, yet she already knew the consequences of these thoughts and what would later be revealed. The revelations would lead her on a journey to discovering a much greater and darker power than being Queen.

Regina stood to confront her mother, but suddenly she disappeared and Regina looked around in confusion. This was not the way that night had gone, her mother had never disappeared. She heard a noise behind her and whirled around, watching in horror as Danielsat up. However, his eyes were no longer kind and warm, they were black and endless just as Henry's had been in her previous memory.

"Look what you've done to me," his dead voice accused.

"No," Regina whispered, her voice a desperate plea. She wanted to close her eyes and run away, but she couldn't.

"Loving you has cursed me to _this_!" he howled at her, "I am dead because of _you_! You, who were never worthy of my love; look at you!"

"NO!" she screamed, "Daniel, I'm sorry, I never wanted you to get hurt!"

"You've turned out just like your mother!" he yelled at her, his eyes glowing black.

"No," she protested weakly because she knew he was right, she had turned out just like her mother.

Daniel stumbled to his feet, inching his way toward her. Regina scrambled backwards, trying to get up to run, but slipping instead. A scream of terror left her lips when Daniel lunged forwards, and just as his body was about to fall on top of hers, her eyes closed in fear.

"God damn it! Answer me Regina!"

Regina opened her eyes, and was surprised to see not the spectre of Daniel towering over her, but Emma. For a moment, Regina smiled brightly, she knew Emma couldn't see the smile; that her thought of a smile would not show up on the body she was now in, but inwardly her soul screamed out with joy to see the woman she loved so very much standing before her. But then the reality of her situation came crashing back down on her, and sherealized that whatever this memory was, it would eventually be twisted and perverted into something that would serve to tear her sanity apart.

"I warned you, Miss Swan. I told you to be careful of Mr Gold, but you didn't heed my warning, now you owe him a favour." Regina stopped, smirking at the irate woman before her, "I'm sure he'll think of some way for you to repay him that won't be too... degrading" Regina finished, looking Emma up and down with a suggestive smirk on her lips.

_Oh God no, please, no!_ Regina pleaded silently, not this, please don't destroy _this_! But then Emma was invading her personal space, and, just as Regina was helpless to fight against her attraction to the blonde then, so she still was now as she gave herself over to the memory, hoping for a reprieve from the horror she now lived, however brief.

"You _disgust_ me!" Emma said her voice low and full of hatred as she pushed herself into Regina's personal space, her face now only inches from the brunette's.

Regina's breath started to come quicker as her dark gaze locked with the newly appointed Sheriff's. She wanted this woman so badly she could feel the need rolling deeply within her, and, while the desperation to have her made her sick, it also excited her beyond anything she'd ever felt before. The need to take the blonde had always been there since she first met her; a primal, carnal need that Regina understood. It was only recently that need had taken on another dimension, one that the Mayor stubbornly ignored. Even now, when she thought about fucking Emma Swan, it was only with a desire to possess her, to conquer her. Regina steadfastly refused to accept there was anything else to it.

"Do you want to hit me again?" Regina asked her with a grin, her tone as always one of superiority.

Regina thought back to how she felt that night exchanging heated words with Miss Swan, only to end up in a fist fight. Truth be told, Regina had been turned on beyond belief during that altercation. When the Deputy had hit her back and then grabbed her, shoving her against the wall of the tomb, she'd wanted nothing more than to rip the woman's clothes off and fuck her right there in the cemetery. So instead of doing something that would have caused them both huge embarrassment, she'd submitted to the woman and, just as she thought she might change her mind, Graham had pulled the irate woman off her - but not before Regina had seen a familiar look in Miss Swan's eyes. It had been lust, the same as what Regina felt for her, and it was gratifying to know the blonde felt it for her in return. She'd wiped the blood from her lip with a smirk as the Deputy had stalked off, much too pleased with her discovery.

Regina could once again see that same look of lust directed at her now, but she would not allow herself to give into her desires for this woman. It was too dangerous. If she'd only felt purely hate or distrust for Miss Swan then she would have had no problem taking what she wanted from her, but ever since the Sheriff had rescued her from the burning town hall earlier in the day, she had been aware of something else taking root within her for the woman. Another feeling that was entirely unwelcome and unwanted, she would not allow it to grow beyond the small seed it now was.

Regina had been so sure that when she'd asked Miss Swan to help her, to save her from the fire, that she would flee the building without her, happy to let her burn. And for a moment, she thought the Deputy had done just that, but then she'd come running back to her, extinguishing the fire near them and taking Regina to safety. Just like at the mine, Regina had seen compassion, an honesty and decency within the woman she didn't expect. Especially not when it came to her, but there she was again, helping her when she asked for it and destroying Regina's preconceived ideas of who Miss Swan was. It frustrated and confused the Mayor, but also excited her.

Regina backed up a step, bumping into the wall behind her when Miss Swan took a step toward her, leaving no space between them and causing her breath to catch.

"What are you doing?" Regina demanded, her tone imperious, "get out of my house!"

Regina was about to issue another demand when suddenly the Sheriff's lips were crashing into her own, and she felt her wrists grabbed roughly and pinned against the wall on either side of her head. Regina began to struggle, telling herself she shouldn't give into this desire, but all pretence of resistance was gone when she felt the woman's tongue slide across her lips. Eagerly now, she sucked Miss Swan's tongue inside her mouth, relishing the moan that came from the blonde as she did so, but then the younger woman pulled back, looking at Regina with wide eyes, her gaze easily giving away her growing reservations about what they were doing.

Regina already felt as if she were being burned alive with her desire for this woman though, she would have her satisfaction now, damn it! She let out a low growl before launching herself at the blonde, wrapping her legs around her waist while her hands gripped her head, pulling her into another heated, rough kiss. The impact of her body meeting the Sheriff's so forcefully sent them both falling to the floor where Regina landed on top of the blonde. The Mayor gave the woman beneath her no time to protest what they were doing as she continued to kiss her forcefully; biting at her lips while elegant hands became rough and ripped open the green shirt she was wearing.

Regina smiled with satisfaction at the surprised gasp against her lips, and then found herself groaning at the renewed vigour with which Miss Swan began to kiss her. Regina's hands caressed the now naked torso beneath her, enjoying the way the younger woman's skin jumped in sensitivity at her touch. Roughly she ran her hands over the exposed flesh, stopping for a moment when her hands reached the Sheriff's breasts, still clothed in a silk bra. She waited until the impassioned woman stopped kissing her, looking at her with a questioning gaze before she took both breasts in her hands and squeezed them, enjoying the way green eyes closed in pleasure and a low moan left swollen lips.

Regina let out a surprised gasp when Miss Swan sat up, but then sure hands were pulling off her blazer and ripping her own shirt open. The Mayor tightened her legs in response around the Sheriff's waist, her head falling back in pleasure as Miss Swan's lips found her neck and began to kiss and bite it roughly. Regina threaded her fingers through blonde hair, pulling hard when the Sheriff hit a particularly sensitive spot. The brunette slid closer to the Sheriff's torso, desperate to feel something against herself where she wanted it the most, but Miss Swan grabbed her hips and stopped her movement.

Regina brought her head back up to protest, but when she met Miss Swan's heated gaze, the intensity of the lust and desire she saw rendered her momentarily speechless until she felt slender fingers unbutton her pants and one hand slip inside, rubbing over her intimately. Her head fell forward this time, resting on the blonde's shoulder. Regina yelled out a second later in pleasure when the Sheriff shoved her panties out of the way and entered her swiftly with two fingers. The Mayor's fingers clung desperately to handfuls of silky, golden hair as Miss Swan mercilessly pleasured her, setting a burning pace that Regina met gladly as she thrust her hips over and over again onto Miss Swan's fingers.

With frustration and more than a little dismay, Regina realized she was already very close to the edge, too close to stop herself from tumbling forward into the abyss. She was so turned on and had wanted this woman for so long that she was ready to explode; yet she wanted to prolong this euphoric pleasure for as long as possible. Regina bit down hard on Miss Swan's neck, her nails going under her torn shirt to rake over her back hard enough to draw blood. She heard the blonde hiss in pain for a moment before speeding up her movements, now using the base of her hand to rub against Regina's clitoris. A raw, primal scream ripped itself from Regina's throat as she felt herself start to come, but then all movement stopped, and, instead of screaming out in pleasure, Regina began to scream out in frustration.

Just as Regina opened her mouth to demand Miss Swan continue to fuck her, the woman started up again, her pace more furious than ever. Regina screamed again with pleasure and, between her pants and moans, swore a string of profanities before once again biting down on Emma's shoulder. Moments ago she'd wanted to slap the Sheriff for stopping so suddenly, for daring to deny her what she needed most, but she realized that in doing so Miss Swan had prolonged her release, allowing Regina to relish the pleasure continuing to build that much longer. Silently Regina congratulated the woman on her skill but outwardly she threatened her that to stop again would lead to her being very sorry.

The Sheriff only laughed lightly at her threat, moving her free hand to grab Regina by the hair and roughly yank her head backwards. The Mayor felt teeth bite into the flesh of her neck, hard enough to make her cry out in a mix of pleasure and pain before the young woman trailed her tongue down her naked chest. Regina stopped breathing for moment when she felt teeth clamp roughly around her nipple, biting it hard enough to cause slight pain, but still be pleasurable. At the same moment Miss Swan sped up her pace, slamming the base of her hand into Regina's clitoris with every thrust. The combined feelings of overwhelming pleasure and the slight pain on her nipple caused Regina to come moments later, screaming out even more profanities and biting down on the Sheriff's shoulder the moment she let go of her hair.

Miss Swan continued to slowly coax small tremors from her even after she'd gone limp in the younger woman's arms before she felt her slowly remove her fingers which made Regina shudder slightly in response. With effort she lifted her head from the Sheriff's sweaty shoulder, preparing to remove herself from atop her when she caught Miss Swan bring glistening fingers towards her own lips. She watched in rapt attention, her mouth going dry as the blonde placed her own fingers in her mouth, sucking Regina from them and licking them seductively when she pulled them out while catching the Mayor's gaze.

"I always knew I'd love the way you taste," Emma told her, voice still thick with desire as she licked her lips.

Regina relished this memory, the first of many similar encounters with Emma. That first time, she could not have known that these quick, angry encounters, more a release of pent up aggression than anything else, would soon turn into moments of stolen happiness that seemed to light a fire inside Regina that burned only for her Sheriff. After all, anger is nothing more than a mask covering that which is most vulnerable inside, and for the first time in her life, Regina had met someone in Emma who seemed to effortlessly cause the mask to slip, revealing all that lay beneath the cold, hard, exterior of her life. Whereas once Regina had thrived on the steady control she maintained over her town and her emotions, Emma had been the undoing of all of that. The anger that seemed to take hold of Regina upon Miss Swan's arrival in town had caused her iron grip over her own version of reality to steadily loosen, and, looking back, Regina knew that it had been inevitable to eventually have the apex of that anger and resulting sexual tension culminate in not only the clashing of wills, but the crashing of lips and bodies against one another. No, that first time with Emma was not a memory Regina would ever allow to be dimmed by this curse she was now under, no matter how she had to fight it, and fight it she did, terrified that at any moment it would somehow be distorted into something that would break her in two.

She couldn't help herself though, as she gave into the pull of other memories which beckoned to her from within the recesses of her mind, memories coloured and punctuated with strands of long blonde hair, the smell and creak of red and blue leather jackets within her embrace, and always those eyes - earnest, green eyes which called Regina forth into something more authentic than the life she had been living before the bail bondsman turned Deputy turned Sheriff had arrived in her town, her little fortress which provided no safety from what was coming. Anger, and the hurt which lies beneath it, are emotions which cloud and darken the mind and the will. When the curtains over her soul were yanked open, allowing the bright light of day and the questing gaze of someone who finally cared to look upon what had remained hidden for so long, the shadows had no choice but to flee. And try as she might to keep Emma Swan from reaching for those heavy, dusty curtains, Regina found it quite impossible to deny the woman access to her soul, for her own eyes were the windows therein. Thus it was that when the Swan and the Queen sought out one another, reflecting all that they were in each other's eyes, anger turned to lust, lust to passion, passion to vulnerability. Vulnerability, when acknowledged and accepted, can lead only to trust, to a sense of belonging, to a sense of home.

Oh, how clear it all was when Regina looked back on it. How obvious that the only possible answer to it had been love. Even now as she was painfully aware that these newly cherished memories could not withstand her cursed state, Regina held tightly to them within her consciousness. Perhaps hope did not have to die, if she could only draw enough strength from these lucid, truthful moments. She allowed the images and sensations of Emma to continue to wash over her. Every kiss, every caress, every desperate, wanton moment was bidden to roll over her in waves, just as she rolled and tangled with Emma beneath the sheets of her bed.

Every body flush felt like a wedding dress, every cry of pleasure a solemn vow offered up to the gods that she, Regina, would have and hold this woman for eternity, well beyond the dying echoes of the shuddering breaths which her lungs pushed forth from the depths of her very soul as she clung to Emma for dear life, the same way she now clung to the last vestiges of a life lost to her, a sanity that threatened to unravel thread by precious thread as Rumpelstiltskin's curse ravaged her mind and body, turning even these few good moments her wretched life had afforded her into an instrument of torment as that which she held sacred was twisted, shredded and torn. And, just as she knew would happen, those arms in which she had felt safest, those hands which had held her closest no longer provided warmth, comfort, solace, or pleasure. Instead, Regina realized with horror that it was those hands, Emma's hands which now clawed at her chest, the nails digging deep and drawing blood as the skin was ripped and split, bones cracked and crushed under the force of those hands reaching into the cavity of her chest and yanking out a heart which pulsed and beat and bled for the one who held it.

An anguished, terrified cry escaped Regina's lips as she looked down at the bloody, gaping hole where once her life force had sustained her. Tearing her gaze away from her own pathetic condition, she looked into the eyes which had so recently shone with lust, perhaps even love for her, only to find them glowing red with a hatred which emanated from Emma's mouth as she threw back her head and cackled with maniacal laughter, all the while squeezing the organ within her grasp as the light slowly began to fade out of it.

"Love is weakness, Regina, I thought you knew that. Or did you think you were somehow deserving of it? You are nothing," Emma spat the words out with venom. "You are nothing to me. Your own mother hated you, your own son despises you. Love can never be yours. You cursed the girl who once loved you, you killed the father who would have done anything for you. You disgust me, you pathetic, loathsome creature."

And with those final, foul words thrown at Regina, her true love crushed her heart to oblivion. Regina's consciousness rushed towards the blackness which welcomed her with its emptiness, even as she knew that this couldn't, this wouldn't be the end. A lurch, a shift, and the bright sunlight of a summer day ten years earlier washed over her as a sleeping, 3-day-old infant was placed in her arms: Henry. Her heart, now whole again, exploded with love as she gazed down at his tiny form, it had been so long since she'd felt that little body cradled against her. Even as her mind settled into the memory of her sweet, baby boy, he was no longer in her arms which suddenly felt cold from his absence. She watched as he grew, changing from year to year, the images flashing across her mind impossibly fast as she simultaneously re-experienced all the joy and sorrow that came from raising this child she never deserved. Henry's big, beautiful eyes which had once gazed at her in wide-eyed innocence began to narrow into slits which regarded her with suspicion and malice, his silly, toothy grin turning to a sneer as he hurled his accusations at her, "You're the Evil Queen! You're not my real mom! I know you never loved me; you're not capable of it. Look at your heart; it's black and rotten to the core!" Regina's eyes were pulled down to her chest yet again, and she screamed as she saw her skin begin to literally rot and fall off in pieces, exposing the heart beneath it that was indeed black, crawling with worms and fetid insects. This was her fate, Regina knew. This was to be her existence for the rest of time as she was held in this world of torment underneath a spell that would never be broken. It was nothing more or less than what she deserved for her wicked deeds. The real curse for her was remembering - remembering over and over all that she had been, all that she had eventually become, all that she had felt, and all that she had lost.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: **Ok, we are finally at the part you've all been waiting for no doubt! I hope you enjoy it immensely and another HUGE thanks to my friend and beta reader SwansandQueens! The story wouldn't be as good as it is without her input, editing and added bits and pieces. Feel free to leave a review if you feel moved to do so! I enjoy hearing from all of you!

**EMMA**

Emma kneeled on the ground of the forest floor, cradling Regina's body to her chest. The Blue Fairy had just implied, in her convoluted, roundabout way, that Regina was not actually dead.

Emma allowed a surge of hope to blossom within her chest at the notion, but it was tempered by the harsh realities she had been dealt lately. Lovingly, she laid Regina back on the ground, her lips curving into a small half smile of thanks at James – her father – as he took off his coat and placed it under Regina's head. Emma wished there were some where to move Regina to rather than leaving her where she lay, but the middle of the forest didn't leave many options.

"Are you telling me she's not dead?" Emma asked the Blue Fairy, her voice hesitantly hopeful as she stood in front of the small woman.

The Blue Fairy nodded her head once, but said nothing.

Emma snapped. "What the hell does that mean!" she yelled in the startled woman's face. Emma had had enough of the double talk and the fairy only giving out limited information or no information at all! Look where that had got her so far! In the middle of a fucking forest with the woman she loved dead, or at least, she looked to be dead, on the cold fucking ground!

It was funny really, once upon a time, even hours ago, Emma would have had a hard time admitting she loved Regina. She would have danced around the word, as she had with Snow and James, she would have called it anything but love, too afraid of what the implications of that would mean. However, so much had again changed in such a short time, and her fear of that word and what it would mean faded away to nothing when she saw Regina standing there alone and confronting the horrors of her past. If there was the slightest chance that Regina wasn't dead, that she hadn't missed her chance to tell the brunette she loved her and that they could try to have a life together, then Emma wanted to know what she had to do to make that happen.

"She isn't fucking breathing," Emma continued to shout angrily, "to me that says she's dead! If you're telling me she's not dead, then just tell me that! Enough with speaking in fucking code already!"

Emma felt a hand on her shoulder and almost instinctively shoved it away until she turned to see who it was. Snow had come to stand beside her and, surprisingly, Emma found she did take comfort in having the woman – her mother – standing next to her. The silent support enabled her to take a deep breath and regain some control over her anger.

"Regina is not dead," the Blue Fairy clarified, "Rumpelstiltskin cursed her, and any curse can be broken under the right circumstances."

Emma was about to demand to know what those circumstances were when the man she had known as Doctor Whale stepped forward and spoke.

"Wait!" he yelled, turning to face the gathered crowd, "is this really what we all want? We are now rid of Rumpelstiltskin and the Evil Queen! Why should she be brought back from her cursed hell when having her there ensures our safety forever!"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Emma yelled at him, her anger returning with a vengeance as she stormed over to where the man was standing.

"I understand you think you love her, but she doesn't love you! She can't love you! You don't know her or what she's capable of, all you know is what you-,"

He never got to finish his sentence as Emma rushed him, punching him hard in the face. The crowd surrounding them gasped collectively in surprise, and she could hear Snow and James shout her name along with Henry, though Henry actually sounded quite happy about her behaviour. How dare that bastard tell her Regina didn't love her! How dare he insinuate he knew her better than Emma did! He knew nothing about who Regina really was, and, while Emma admitted she had a lot to learn about the woman, she knew Regina wasn't the Evil Queen she used to be.

The punch had knocked Doctor Whale on his ass, and when he got back to his feet, wiping blood from his nose, Emma lunged forward to hit him again, but was stopped abruptly by James grabbing her arms from behind and pulling her backwards away from the now silent and cowering man. Emma struggled for a few moments, trying to break free and finish what she'd started, but then Snow was stepping forward again, hushing the now chattering crowd of people.

"You alright?" James asked with concern as he let her go.

Emma shook her head affirmatively and concentrated on calming herself down. Bending forward, she rested her hands on her knees and breathed deeply, closing her eyes and concentrating on the sound of Snow who had started to speak.

"Friends," she began, her voice full of an authority Emma had never heard before, "please listen to me." Immediately the crowd quieted down and Emma stood back up, feeling much more herself as she watched her friend – her mother – speak to the people, and, with a start, Emma realized these people were Snow's people. She was beloved by all of them, and a surge of pride and wonder took shape in her chest as she thought about her mother having been a Princess – no, a Queen – and having engendered such devotion from her subjects.

"I understand how you all feel. I know the Queen – Regina – has taken so much from us that can never be given back. I know you all want to see her punished..." Emma's eyes widened, and, for a moment, she feared where Snow was going with this - but a moment later she realized her fear had been unfounded. "Just as I did."

Snow paused, letting the weight of her statement sink in.

"When I first regained my memories, I wanted her punished just as much as you all do, if not more. First she took my father, then she tried to take my life and finally, when that failed, she took away my daughter," Snow paused, her eyes filling with tears briefly as she looked to Emma for a moment before turning back to the crowd, her voice still steady and strong, "and she took away everything I – all of us – ever knew. But the woman that did all those terrible things is not the same woman who just stood here in front of all of us and accepted a fate worse than death to protect not only those she loves, but every single person here. When Regina made her final deal with Rumpelstiltskin, she negotiated protection for ALL of us, and I am forever grateful to her for that."

"That woman is not the Evil Queen we all knew – that woman is someone I never thought I'd see again. The woman lying on the ground is the Regina I once knew so many years ago, the one who rescued me from death." Snow stopped, taking a breath before continuing and letting the crowd absorb what she was telling them. Emma had no idea what Snow was talking about, nor did it seem many in the crowd did, but they were all shocked and surprised to hear that Regina had once saved Snow's life.

"The Evil Queen who cursed us is dead, just as dead as Rumpelstiltskin is. The woman that remains may look and sound like her, but it's not her. When Regina sacrificed herself for my daughter and grandson – for love – she destroyed the Evil Queen, her black magic turning white proves that. I say we let our desire for vengeance die with her. For us to desire revenge against a woman that no longer exists is madness, and will condemn us all to a fate worse than death."

"My wife is right," James agreed, coming to stand beside her, putting his arm around her shoulders, "the Evil Queen is dead, let the past die with her."

Emma watched with amazement as one by one, the gathering of people all began to nod their heads in agreement. As she moved to stand next to Snow, Emma had the most ridiculous fleeting thought that her mother should go into politics.

"Thank you." Emma said with a lop-sided grin, embracing Snow quickly before meeting her gentle gaze.

"I had to say something before you beat up everyone here." Snow joked, causing them to chuckle for a moment before she continued, her tone now serious. "I meant what I said though, Emma, Regina is a changed woman, a woman worthy of my daughter's love, though I'll admit, that will still take some getting used to, but the woman I saw give up her life for others is not the same woman who ridiculed me for doing the same thing. Her love for you and Henry has changed her remarkably; you truly are a saviour to everyone in this town." Emma smiled and took her friend's hand, squeezing it in thanks, "Now go finish what you started," Snow told her, her gaze moving to the Blue Fairy who was smiling at them both. "Just don't punch her ok?" Snow teased with a wink.

Emma gave Snow a small grin and watched as she and James moved to talk to the chattering crowd of people. She turned to go back and talk with the Blue Fairy when Henry came running over to her. Trepidation filled Emma's chest as he stood in front of her, looking up at her with big, questioning green eyes that were so like her own, but even more like Snow's. Why had she never noticed that before? She knew Henry must have questions. He hadn't known of her relationship with Regina, but her behaviour since he'd arrived had left no doubt as to her feelings for the dark woman to anyone who cared to watch and listen, which she knew Henry had done avidly. He was a smart kid, too smart for his own good, and he had already put two and two together no doubt.

"Come on, Emma!" Henry said after a moment, "we have to save my mom! If she's only cursed like I was, there _will_ be a way!" he exclaimed, his earlier desolation washed away by the enthusiasm of his renewed spirit.

Emma had expected Henry to ask her about their relationship, so she was relieved when she heard such different words come out instead. Smiling at him, she put her arm around his shoulder and, together, they walked back to the Blue Fairy.

"What do I have to do?" Emma asked the Blue Fairy, her tone full of purpose and intent. "I will do anything," she added seriously.

The Blue Fairy smiled at her, "You are such a brave woman Emma Swan, but there is nothing dangerous you must do now, at least not physically. The only danger in the way to waking Regina is to your heart."

Emma's hands clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palms as her eyes grew dark with anger once again. She was so sick of this fucking fairy! Could she not get a straight answer out of her! Did everything she say have to come out as a damn riddle she was meant to solve in order to get what she wanted? It was infuriating!

"The ring, Emma!" Henry exclaimed, taking her fist in his smaller hands and touching the eternity ring she now wore on her finger.

"The ring doesn't work kid," Emma said, sighing in frustration. "I tried to use it against Rumpelstiltskin, and it did nothing. Why the hell did you give this thing to me anyway!" Emma demanded, turning her attention back to the Blue Fairy. "It was useless against him! In fact, everything you have said has been useless!"

"Listen to Henry, Emma," the Blue Fairy told her, "he's a very intuitive boy."

Emma glared daggers at the still smiling woman as she took a deep breath and consciously strove to keep control of her temper, which was threatening to rage out of control again. She already knew what type of kid Henry was! He was an incredible kid who seemed to accept her feelings for his mother without question! He was brave and good, and, like his mother, was willing to sacrifice himself for those he loved and believed in.

"The ring wasn't meant for Rumpelstiltskin!" Henry almost shouted at her, his eyes full of excitement, "It was always meant for my mom! For you to save her! You're her Prince Charming!" He exclaimed, a huge grin lighting up his face.

Emma's burgeoning anger lost its flame as she began to understand what Henry was trying to tell her. The ring was always meant for Regina, a symbol of eternity, of love... it all made so much sense now that she thought about it. She had been told time and again by Henry, and a few times, mockingly, by Regina in their past encounters that true love was the greatest magic of all, what greater symbol of that was there than this ring she had always held so dear to her heart. This ring that she had always had since as long as she could remember, though she had never known where it had come from or how she'd come to have it.

"I gave you that ring," Snow said, startling Emma from her thoughts, a warm hand lying against her arm as Snow met her gaze with shining eyes. "When I wrapped you in your baby blanket, I put it in a pouch and tucked it in next to you as a symbol of love and family, an eternal bond that can never be broken no matter what may befall us."

Emma couldn't stop her eyes filling with tears as she looked into the warm gaze of Snow, seeing a mother's love shining back at her.

"It's only fitting that such a symbol should be the key to saving the life of the woman you love," Snow told her, squeezing her arm in support before she took a step back to lean into the arm that James wrapped around her.

Emma noticed the crowd of people had now stopped talking amongst themselves, their attention once again riveted to her. Taking a deep breath, she moved back to Regina's body, kneeling next to it and once again cradling it in her arms. The brunette still felt warm to the touch despite the chill in the air, and, for some reason, that gave Emma some comfort. It was physical proof that Regina wasn't dead, despite the fact that she wasn't breathing.

Emma slipped the ring off her own finger, and, holding Regina's upper body with one arm, she used her free hand to slide the ring onto Regina's finger. It took her a moment to get the ring in place as her own hands were cold and shaking so badly in fear she thought for a moment she would drop it. What if when she put the ring on Regina's finger it didn't work? What if it did nothing at all? What did that mean? But her fears were soon put to rest when she slid the ring home, and it started to glow lightly, causing Emma's eyes to widen in surprise and her breath to catch as she waited, now holding Regina tightly in both arms.

She watched with bated breath as Regina's hand twitched and her eyes began to move rapidly beneath their lids, but after what felt like minutes, though in reality was only seconds, Regina still hadn't woken. "C'mon, Regina…come back to me," Emma whispered. She was positive this magic shit was supposed to work almost immediately, that's how it had worked with Henry when she'd kissed him...

Emma realized then what she had to do to finish breaking the curse which was holding Regina captive, and a moment later Henry yelled out, giving voice to her thoughts.

"Kiss her!" he shouted, a grin evident in his tone.

Emma smiled, and, with most of Storybrooke watching her, she brought her lips to Regina's own in a tender, but chaste kiss. The effect was immediate. Ripples of undulating energy encompassing a rainbow of colours radiated outward as Emma's lips met Regina's, and everyone felt the effect as true love's magic swept over them. Emma inhaled sharply, relief and happiness filling her as Regina sat halfway up, gasping for breath momentarily as her eyes flew open and her confused gaze met Emma's.

"Regina," Emma whispered the name with reverence, her voice catching as a sob of joy threatened to overwhelm her.

Understanding came to Regina's eyes as she looked at Emma, love infusing her gaze and her own voice catching emotionally as she said with wonder, "You saved me."

Emma wiped away a tear that began sliding down Regina's cheek. "I will always save you. I love you, Regina," Emma told her, voice thick with emotion.

Emma smiled at the sob of joy her words evoked as Regina's face lit up with a teary smile that was so beautiful it took Emma's breath away, "I love _you_, Emma," Regina responded, her voice breaking with feeling.

Regina put her hand on Emma's tear stained cheek and leaned in, placing her warm lips against Emma's in a tentative kiss that soon became passionate. Emma wrapped her arms around Regina, holding her close and relishing the way Regina's soft, inviting lips moved over her own. This kiss felt so different from any others they had shared; it was an apology, an absolution, and a promise. Whatever life held for them in the future, they would face it together, united in their love for each other and in their family. They would always find each other, they would always save each other, and nothing would ever come between them again.

"Mom!" Henry yelled, effectively breaking the moment, but creating one just as beautiful as he threw himself onto her, tears of joy falling from his eyes.

"Henry!" Regina sobbed, clutching him tightly to her.

"I thought we'd lost you, Mom! You were so brave! I love you!"

"I love you too, Henry," Regina said through her tears, "I always have."

"And you always will," Henry finished, smiling brightly at her.

"Always," Regina confirmed, wrapping him in another hug and pulling Emma into her arms as well.

"Rumpelstiltskin!" Regina's head snapped up and she began looking around frantically as though she expected him to jump out at any minute and destroy the reunion with those she loved.

Emma touched her cheek softly, meeting her worried gaze with a reassuring one of her own. Emma was relieved when Regina leaned into her hand and relaxed.

"He's gone. A woman came and took him away."

Regina looked at her with confusion.

"You defeated him," Emma explained, "when you sacrificed yourself for us," Emma's voice caught and she stopped for a moment as she remembered Regina screaming out in pain as Rumpelstiltskin laid his hands on her, "the dark magic inside you changed to white and when it combined with his, it defeated him and broke his curse. Rumpelstiltskin is dead. Only a normal man remained," Emma finished, her own disbelief at everything that had happened evident in her voice.

Regina's lips parted in a look of utter shock as her eyes went wide.

"It was amazing mom!" Henry exclaimed as he pulled back from their embrace, "Rumpelstiltskin was laughing over what he'd done to you, and then Emma grabbed Prince Charming's sword and was going to run him through," at that Regina turned her stunned gaze to Emma who only shrugged, a wry grin on her face, "but just as she was about to kill him, he fell down in pain and this dark cloud came out of him, and then a white energy inside it took over the black and it vanished! Then he looked just like Mr Gold again except..." Henry stopped for a moment, his face scrunching up in thought, "except he looked different, he looked scared, not like Mr Gold always looked. Then Belle came and took him away."

Henry finished his story with a large smile on his face. Regina still looked stunned, but Emma could see Regina was carefully processing everything she'd been told while trying to regain her equilibrium as brown eyes looked around her and took in the townspeople all staring at them, some with smiles on their faces, a few frowning, while others looked anywhere but at Regina directly. Emma noticed a wariness settle over Regina's features as her shoulders stiffened.

"So what happens next?" Henry asked excitedly, his eyes already lighting up at thoughts of another adventure.

Emma turned her attention to Henry and gave him a lop-sided smile. "We go home," Emma answered, entwining her fingers with Regina's as she helped her stand, hoping the gesture would give the older woman some reassurance, "together."

Emma looked to Regina now, her eyes searching for confirmation.

"Together," Regina replied without hesitation, her hand squeezing Emma's determinedly.

Emma chuckled softly as she noticed Henry trying not to look too disappointed at the news. She wished she had his energy, because at the moment she felt as if she'd run a marathon. She supposed slaying a dragon, running around after a Fairytale Queen and breaking two curses all in one day did qualify as reason to be exhausted. Glancing at Regina, she could see the Mayor was just as tired as she was. Her normally clear and bright eyes looked haunted, and there were traces of dark circles beneath her eyes. The Sheriff didn't know what Regina had experienced while under the curse, but it was obviously something Regina would not get over easily. The two of them had so much to talk about; so much to work out between them, but all Emma could think of doing right now was taking her home and holding her tightly all night long.

Keeping a firm hold of Regina's hand, she walked into the waiting crowd, positioning herself slightly in front of Regina in case anyone who might still harbour ideas of revenge toward her would be foolish enough to attempt anything. Emma wanted to make it very clear, if she hadn't already, that she loved Regina and would do anything to protect her. But everyone stepped aside, smiling at them both, or in some cases at least looking down in deference to Emma as she guided Regina through the crowd. She noticed Regina squeeze her hand tightly as they made their way through, but that was the only outward sign of Regina's nervousness at being surrounded by people that, less than an hour ago, had wanted her dead. The Mayor held herself with regal grace and poise, her head held high, her expression stoic as always as she walked next to Emma, only stopping when Snow and James stepped out of the crowd to stand in front of them. Emma almost cried out in surprise, and not a little bit of pain, when Regina tightened her grip ten-fold at the sight of them blocking their path. Emma was tempted to step in, but she knew she needed to let these two say whatever they needed to say to each other.

For a moment, everyone stopped breathing, no one moved. Emma could hear every quickened breath Regina took as she held Snow's unyielding gaze. That was the only sign of concern Regina showed as she returned the gaze with just as much intensity, not allowing her indomitable will to bend or break even in the face of the judgement she was sure was about to befall her. Emma couldn't help but admire the iron will her lover possessed.

After a tense half minute in which Emma was sure she lost all circulation in her fingers from Regina's vice like grip, Snow's gaze softened and, in return, Regina's shoulders shifted almost imperceptibly into a more relaxed position as her breathing returned to normal. Though Emma realized no one but she would have been attuned to Regina's almost indiscernible mood changes.

"Thank you," Snow told her with a smile that had everyone letting out a breath they weren't aware they were holding.

Emma smiled at the stunned look on Regina's face, but the Mayor quickly recovered, giving a nod, a small, hesitant smile playing at her own lips as she said sincerely, "I love them."

Regina said nothing more, as if that explained it all and, really, Emma thought, that did explain it all. She knew there were wounds these two may never heal from regarding each other, things that they had said and done to each other that they may never really get over, but they were both willing to put it all behind them for the sake of their shared family and their shared love for that family.

As Snow stepped aside, Emma squeezed Regina's hand and pulled her close, once again leading them from the forest. Henry took Regina's other hand, and Snow and James fell in behind them with the rest of the crowd following. As they walked, Emma wondered if Regina had any idea what a monumental thing she had done? Even after saving them all from god knows what at the hands of Rumpelstiltskin, Regina had still expected punishment when she faced Snow. Emma's heart clenched painfully as she thought what little mercy Regina must have been shown in her life if all she expected from people were judgments and punishment even after saving their lives.

Glancing at Regina and catching her gaze, Emma smiled reassuringly at her, wanting Regina to clearly see the love she had for her. Regina smiled in return, but there was a sadness to it, a disbelief as if Regina thought that at any moment all of this would be taken away from her, that this was a dream that she would be pulled from at any second. Emma knew the horrors of Regina's past, both those she experienced and committed, could not be taken away overnight, but no matter how long it took Emma, she was determined to prove to Regina how much she loved her and how much she deserved this happy ending. Regina had given up her powers and her life, the Evil Queen broken by the rules of love, and Emma planned to spend the rest of her life showing Regina how truly magical their true love was.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: **Well, this is pretty much the end of the journey! There WILL be an epilogue, written by SwansandQueens, making its way to you all shortly but that could be a week away or so. She's had a wonderful idea though that will tie this all up very nicely for everyone I think and I'm excited for her to write it down and share it with you all! In the mean time, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and it gives you everything you were hoping for! Would love to hear what you all think if you feel like you want to share.

**Author's Note 2: **Again, a **HUGE** thanks to my friend and beta reader SwansandQueens! She added a few bits and pieces to this chapter that really made it that much better AND she wrote the last paragraph which really gives this such a sweet ending! So a huge thank you to her for that and for all she has done for me while writing this!

**REGINA**

Regina stood under the scalding spray of the shower as soothing rivulets of hot water cascaded over her head and down her body, erasing the dirt of the forest floor from her. She only wished the water could also erase the memories of what she'd experienced while she'd been in the grip of Rumpelstiltskin's curse. Walking out of the woods with Emma and Henry, she kept expecting that at any moment one of them would turn on her, their eyes glowing with malicious intent as they accused her that loving her was nothing but a curse. She'd held her breath when they'd reached Emma's appalling yellow car, waiting while Emma spoke with her newly discovered parents, her back stiffening when Snow had glanced at her for a moment while talking with Emma. Though she and Snow had come to an understanding of sorts, Regina was not naïve enough to expect unconditional acceptance. Part of her expected that at any second Emma would turn around and tell her she was leaving her here and going home with the family that Regina had ripped away from her, but Emma had done no such thing.

As Snow and James climbed into a four wheel drive, Henry jumped into the back seat of the yellow bug and Emma settled herself into the driver's seat. Regina had stood there, waiting for the proverbial axe to fall, waiting for the punishment she knew she deserved despite Snow's apparent forgiveness. Regina did not believe one decent act on her part could erase everything she'd done until that point. But when she didn't get in the car right away, Emma had stepped back out of the car saying her name with questioning concern. Regina locked eyes with her, and the acceptance she saw there, along with the small affectionate smile Emma offered, made her open the door and get in. The Mayor had tried to shake the morose thoughts from her mind as they drove towards her estate, fingers intertwined with Emma's the entire way, but no matter how she tried to convince herself this was all real, that Emma loved her and that Henry actually wanted to be her son, she couldn't quite get there. After all, a woman like her who had done the things she had done didn't get a happy ending.

Yet here she stood in her own shower, alive and teetering on the edge of allowing herself to feel happier than she'd ever been in her life. But something kept holding her back, a dark pervasive fear that would not leave her alone. The fear that Emma didn't really want to be with her, that Henry still hated her and that at any moment enraged Storybrooke citizens would come knocking on her door, demanding justice. Rationally she knew her fears about Emma, at least, were ridiculous; Emma had saved her with true love's kiss after all. Any doubts Regina may have harboured about the exact nature of Emma's feelings for her were put to rest when she woke and realized how Emma had saved her and what that meant about their feelings for each other. Their declarations of love for each other and the passionate kiss they'd shared had steadied her fears and grounded her in the moment, but now Regina could not stop the doubts running through her mind as she laid her hands against the cold tiles of the shower and stared at the ring on her finger. Just because what they felt for each other was somehow impossibly and against all odds, true love, didn't mean Emma _wanted_ to be with her. Or even should be with her.

When the three of them had arrived back at Regina's home, Emma and Henry had explained everything that happened to her, at least to the best of their abilities since neither of them really had a clue about the ways of magic, and Regina understood _how_, she just didn't understand _why_ what she'd done entitled her to a happy ending. It was absurd really, the happy ending she'd fought so hard and cursed everyone trying to obtain, was now right in front of her, and she couldn't accept it.

As she and Emma cleaned up the mess she'd created earlier by destroying all the mirrors in the house, Regina had stayed outwardly silent, though inwardly her mind was roiling with questions and fears. She couldn't avoid catching glimpses of her fragmented reflection in the jagged pieces of glass she attempted to sweep away, and she wondered if ridding her life of the Evil Queen could really be so simple. Not for the first time, and probably not for the last, she longed for the feel of magic on her fingertips once more – how much easier it would be to wave her hands and have her power command all that was shattered to instantly mend itself. That's how Queen Regina had survived her life in the old world, anyway, with her powers holding her together. For over 28 years she had grown used to the feeling of her body empty and devoid of magic, but having tasted the power and lure of it so recently, old desires were not willing to be quieted, especially as her aching back screamed at her for this chore which magic could have quickly completed. The battle with Rumpelstiltskin had been the most physically demanding thing she had done in all of the history of Storybrooke, and she was sure she'd feel the effects for days or even weeks ahead. The physical pain of healing was likely to prove no match for the emotional healing that needed to occur, however. How fitting then, that Emma should be right there with her, helping her to pick up the shattered pieces of that which had been broken.

While they cleaned up the mess, they'd sent Henry up to have a bath and get ready for bed. Twice Emma had attempted to ask her if she was ok while they cleaned, and each time Regina dismissed her concern with a flippant remark. When they'd finished up, Emma had tried again to speak with her, but Regina was mercifully saved from having to reply when

Henry had come bounding down the stairs, freshly bathed and threw his arms around her, hugging her tightly. Regina had been taken off guard, still not used to such obvious displays of affection from her son but she'd returned his embrace gladly, the tension within her lessening slightly.

"I'm so glad you're ok mom," he'd told her again as she wrapped him in arms, "I knew when I asked Emma not to let anyone hurt you, she'd keep you safe."

Regina knew the words had held no other meaning than what Henry had said, but they served to sow the seed of doubt she already had about the blonde's motivations. Emma was touched by Henry's open affection for Regina now and by his faith in both his mothers, and she joined in the hug, wrapping her arms around the two of them; Regina couldn't help it when, with her doubts mocking her, she stiffened in her embrace. Emma had noticed immediately and shot her a questioning glance, a flicker of hurt flashing in her eyes before she could hide it. Regina had looked away, feeling like an ass and telling her she needed to take a shower as she started off for her bedroom. Emma had called out to her, saying her name questioningly, obviously confused and hurt by the older woman's behaviour. Regina had stopped, turning to give Emma a tight, forced smile that didn't reach her eyes as she lied and told her she was fine and to please put Henry to bed while she took a shower. Emma had given barely discernible nod of acknowledgement before taking a step in Regina's direction, a move that told the older woman putting Henry to bed was the last thing the blonde was currently thinking about. At that, Regina had quickly turned and ascended the stairs, craving the comfort of a hot shower which is where she now stood staring at the ring Emma had given her and wondering if it was what Emma had really wanted to do. Shouldn't Emma want her punished? Regina shivered as chills raced down her spine imagining Emma's beautiful, warm eyes turning hateful and red.

Shaking her head at her dark and morbid thoughts, Regina turned off the shower and stepped out into the large bathroom. She shivered as the cold air hit her naked body and grabbed a towel to quickly dry off. It took her much longer than usual to towel dry her hair which still fell in long, dark waves down her back. She would need to get it cut again as soon as possible, she thought as she put on her silk robe, it reminded her too much of her past. There had once been a time when the more regal and elaborate styles she could create for her hair brought her a visible assurance of her place and authority in her old world, as she had considered her hair just as much a part of her crowning glory as the literal crown she wore upon her head. Those days were gone forever, and now she was no longer a queen, nor even a mayor, she thought wryly. Stripped of her personas and power, she was left with just…Regina, and she wasn't sure she could ever accept that.

Opening the ensuite door, she expected Emma would already be there, and, when she was met with an empty room, a surge of panic rose in her chest. Maybe she'd been right after all. This wasn't what Emma really wanted, and she'd left. Regina knew it would serve her right, but the thought of losing Emma caused her to wrap her arms around herself, a weak substitute for the arms she wanted to feel wrapped around her despite all her doubts and fears. But then she heard a sharp bark of laughter that was unmistakably Emma's come from the hallway, and Regina hurriedly left her bedroom to find the young woman.

Regina couldn't help but smile when she arrived at Henry's bedroom door and peeked inside. Henry was nestled under the blankets and giggling while Emma was shaking her head at him and trying not to grin but failing miserably.

"It's not funny, Henry!" Emma attempted to scold, but the smirk on her face rendered her attempt useless, and Henry burst into a fit of giggles again, "I shouldn't have punched Dr Whale, hitting someone is no way to solve your problems."

"You hit Doctor Whale, Miss Swan?" Regina remarked dryly from the doorway, her smile now replaced with a look of distaste all to reminiscent of the looks she'd often given Emma before her sacrifice in the woods. "Why does that not surprise me?"

They both turned to look at her then, Henry smiling brightly, his eyes dancing with excitement while Emma's brows were drawn together slightly as she stared at Regina; hurt beginning to mix with confusion once again. Regina hated herself in that moment, but she couldn't stop her usual defences from asserting themselves when she felt emotionally threatened and vulnerable. And, truth be told, she always felt that way around Emma Swan, now more than ever before.

"Yeah mom!" Henry said excitedly, unaware of the mounting tension between the two, "When the Blue Fairy told us you weren't dead, but were only cursed and could be saved, Doctor Whale said you shouldn't be saved, that we should just leave you under the curse forever. Emma got so angry she punched him! Prince Charming had to pull her away from him! It was awesome!"

Regina's eyes widened in alarm and surprise as her gaze met Emma's. No one had ever defended her honour before, not that she'd had any honour to defend in quite a long time, she thought sardonically.

"He shouldn't have said that about the woman I love," Emma said simply, shrugging her shoulders and offering Regina a small grin.

Regina's eyes softened for a moment, a hint of a smile coming to her lips. Emma was making her feelings blatantly obvious, so why couldn't she just accept them and revel in the love she saw in Emma's eyes? Regina felt as though she were standing on the edge of a precipice, one she wanted desperately to fall into, but the lessons her life had taught her held her back. Lowering her eyes from Emma's gaze, she quickly stepped into Henry's room, giving him a kiss on the forehead and telling him she loved him before retreating hastily from the room and going back to her own.

Once Regina was alone, she took a deep breath, her shoulders slumping as she brought her fingers to her forehead, rubbing it in frustration. She didn't want to act like this towards Emma, she loved the woman so much it hurt. It actually felt as if Emma were a part of her, a tangible thing deep within her that she could feel her own soul brush against, but she was so terrified that Emma would leave her or be taken from her just as everything she'd ever loved in her life had been, whether by her own hand or someone else's. Anything that Regina loved ended up getting hurt, and she didn't want to hurt Emma any more than she already had. And that was really the crux of her problem more than anything else, she realized as she sighed, she feared for Emma's safety if the young woman remained with her. If those nightmares had shown her anything while being under the curse, it was that loving her was dangerous, and she didn't want to put Emma Swan in any more danger than she already had.

Regina jumped slightly, startled from her thoughts when she heard the bedroom door close firmly behind her. She was quite sure Emma would have slammed it if not for Henry being across the hall. She waited a moment for Emma to speak, knowing she would, before turning around to face her, arms wrapped tightly around herself once again.

"_Miss Swan?"_ Emma questioned, her eyes beginning to burn with anger. "Are we seriously back to _that_ after everything that has happened between us?"

"It is your name, isn't it dear?" Regina responded, her tone patronizing as her lips curled into a tight, fake smile that only lasted for a moment.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Regina!" Emma snapped, anger rising to the surface as she stepped toward her.

Regina looked away and anxiously toyed with the ring on her finger. She noticed Emma's eyes fall to her fidgeting hands which betrayed her, giving away her true emotional state with her nervous behaviour. Anxiety and fear churned uncomfortably inside the brunette's stomach as she was seized by the irrational thought that Emma didn't really want to be with her, and that if she did stay, something dreadful would happen to her.

"Would you like this back, Miss Swan?" Regina asked hastily, trying to divert Emma's attention away from her nervous fidgeting as well as feeling like she needed to offer Emma the opportunity to leave if she wanted to.

Emma's eyes widened with surprise, looking from the ring to Regina's face. Regina didn't meet her gaze, but she knew Emma was now studying her intently. Regina felt as if she weren't in control of her own actions anymore as she began to slip the ring from her finger. It was almost off when suddenly Emma was there, pushing into her personal space just as she'd always done from the beginning, and stopping her from removing the ring by placing her own fingers over Regina's slightly trembling ones.

Emma still said nothing, only stood there, her hand over Regina's own as she steadied it. Regina found herself caught off guard by Emma's sudden closeness, her head coming up quickly and locking eyes with Emma's own which held an understanding that made Regina begin to tremble inside. The steady and strong, yet quiet, caring presence of Emma surrounding her pulled at Regina's heart, urging her to confess her fears and doubts.

Emma broke their gaze, her eyes falling back to the ring that hung precariously on the end of Regina's finger. Regina stopped breathing when Emma took the ring firmly between two of her own fingers, still irrationally terrified that Emma would take the ring and walk out of her life. Instead, Emma sought out her gaze once more, and, when she found it, she began to push the ring back onto Regina's finger until it was securely in place. Regina swallowed hard over the lump that suddenly formed in her throat.

"I gave you this ring because I love you," Emma told her, her voice soft and warm.

"Not because Henry asked you to?" Regina breathed out, voice tremulous as she voiced one of her fears.

"No, Regina," Emma answered, her hand clasping the brunette's, her expression serious, "because _I _wanted to. I saved you because the thought of you being dead brought me to my knees."

Regina closed her eyes, overwhelmed by Emma's honesty, a tear escaping down her cheek which Emma gently wiped away. She couldn't help but believe she didn't deserve this woman, and she certainly didn't deserve her love. When Regina opened her eyes she found Emma's gaze glassy with unshed tears.

"Have you been shown so little understanding, so little mercy, that you don't believe anyone can truly love you now?" Emma asked as the hand that had wiped her tear away now cupped Regina's cheek. "Or is it that you believe you don't deserve it?" Emma finished softly.

Regina tried to come up with a denial, part of her wanting to wrap herself within her usual acerbic remarks of defence and outrage at having the truth put so blatantly before her, but she couldn't because a larger part of her didn't want to anymore. The irresistible tug of honesty pulled Regina's voice from her throat once more, and as she turned away from Emma, she heard herself admitting, "After the things I've done... how can I?"

Regina felt warm hands around her upper arms before a soft, but firm body pressed against her from behind. She made a half-hearted attempt to move away, but Emma held her firmly against her.

"I woke you with true love's kiss, doesn't that tell you something?" Emma said quietly in her ear, causing Regina to shiver.

"Love isn't always enough," Regina responded, her voice full of grief as she remembered a time when she had believed it was, only to have it torn apart before her very eyes.

Emma wrapped her arms around Regina from behind, and Regina wanted nothing more than to relax into the love she felt within that embrace, allowing it to alleviate the iron grip of fear and guilt around her heart.

"When we were leaving the forest, I could see it Regina, I could see the doubt and the fear in your eyes. I only heard part of what Rumpelstiltskin and your mother did to you, but I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make sure no one ever hurts you again. Because of the things that have happened to you, I understand why you've done the things you've done Regina. I don't approve of them, but I understand the desolation and loneliness you felt that drove you to your actions."

Emma lowered her head slightly, and Regina felt a soft kiss on her neck causing her to close her eyes at the warm, loving gesture.

"When I thought you were dead," Emma continued, wrapping her hands around Regina's own, "I was consumed with the desire to kill the man that had taken you from me, and I was going to do so without hesitation. So I _do_ understand. But I also understand you are no longer the person who committed the crimes of your past. You sacrificed yourself for love Regina, in doing so you saved not only us, but yourself. Your actions today proved loved _is_ enough, it's everything," Emma finished, tightening her arms around Regina.

Regina was trembling now as she desperately wanted to feel the truth of Emma's words wash over her. She turned in Emma's embrace to meet her gaze, her eyes full of unshed tears and anguish. "Don't you think I want to believe it?"

Emma started to respond, but Regina cut her off, suddenly needing to confess her doubts and fears to the woman she loved.

"I've lived so long fearing that my past crimes would catch up with me... it's hard to believe that one decent action has absolved me of all my past sins... there are so many," Regina's voice hardened a bit as she continued, "things you could never even imagine. I come from a harsh world, Emma, and I survived by being ruthless." Wondering again in disbelief at how she could deserve the love and care of this woman standing before her, Regina went on, "But I _do_ love you Emma, I know that now," Regina promised, her voice thick and sincere. "I am just terrified that you'll be taken from me, or that being with me will get you hurt. I am terrified that you'll wake up in the morning and realize the full magnitude of everything I ripped away from you, and hate me for it. I took so much from you," Regina finished, guilt causing her to break their gaze and lower her head slightly.

She heard Emma sigh, and for a few moments it was deathly silent in the room. Fear crawled its way sharply back up Regina's spine as she waited, her breaths shallow and erratic.

"A part of me _is _angry at you Regina," Emma spoke, finally breaking the silence, "and I hate the things you've done, but I don't hate _you_ and what's done is done."

Regina's head snapped up, stunned at the cavalier attitude Emma seemed to have about losing her childhood and parents. But when she found Emma's gaze, it was severe and serious.

"Don't misunderstand, Regina, I am not saying I don't care, but I'm smart enough to recognize that I can't do anything to change the past. I'm also smart enough to know that the woman who did those things no longer exists. That woman would never have placed love above her desire for revenge, but _you_ did."

"None of that can absolve me of my past," Regina protested.

Emma gave her a sad smile, "Do you feel absolved?"

Regina let out a sharp, half broken laugh before replying, "Not in the least."

"Then that's your answer, it doesn't absolve you, but people are willing to move forward and put the past behind them, you should, too."

"I don't know if I know how," Regina admitted softly, dropping her gaze.

"Then let me help you, Regina. Let what we have together, what we feel for each other, guide you," Emma implored, causing Regina to raise her eyes to hers once again.

Regina stared at her for a moment, waiting for her beautiful green eyes to turn demon red, waiting for this perfect moment in time to be shattered and twisted into something foul and macabre, but it wasn't.

"When I was under Rumpelstiltskin's curse, you..." Regina stopped, not sure she should tell Emma.

"What, Regina? What happened to you?" Emma asked her, her eyes concerned and worried as she laid her hand lightly against her arm in support.

"Some of the best memories of my life were twisted and perverted," Regina's lips trembled slightly as she remembered, "you ripped my heart out and told me love was a weakness," Regina confessed, swallowing hard as she fought the tears struggling to break free. God, how she hated feeling like this! She had never felt so open and vulnerable in front of someone as she did in this moment. It was terrifying.

Emma looked at her with nothing but compassion and understanding; love, not disgust and hate, shining in her eyes. The younger woman gave her one of those half smiles Regina had come to love and said, "Love is the greatest magic of all Regina, you taught me that today." Regina's breath hitched when Emma's hand rested on her cheek for a moment before sliding back into long hair which she threaded her fingers through as she cupped the back of Regina's head, "now let me show you how strong my love for you is, and how deserving I think you are, even if you don't agree."

"Emma," Regina began just before the blonde's lips touched her own.

Emma stopped, pulling back slightly to meet her gaze. Regina opened her mouth to speak, to tell Emma she would be better off without her, but instead she found herself taken aback by such intense love and devotion shining within Emma's eyes, she felt her fears recede, and her doubts suddenly seemed less loud inside her head. She found herself falling into deep green eyes, made darker than usual by the desire now burning in them.

"Trust me," Emma breathed over her lips, causing the brunette to shiver slightly in anticipation; and Regina was helpless to do anything else other than what her lover asked as soft, warm lips claimed her own.

Regina sank into the kiss when Emma wrapped one arm tightly around her, the other still on the back of her head, holding Regina to her as Emma's tongue caressed her lips before moving inside her mouth where Regina tasted her hungrily. Regina brought her arms up and wrapped them around Emma's neck, burying her hands in soft golden hair that she gathered in handfuls as she found herself clinging to Emma. A moan of pleasure left them both, their desire echoing in each other's mouths.

They both stumbled to the bed and, upon reaching it, Emma broke the kiss abruptly. Regina cried out in surprise when, without warning, Emma shoved her onto the bed. Before Regina could move or say anything, Emma was on top of her, holding herself above Regina on her arms, long blonde hair framing her face as it tumbled around her shoulders. Emma was breathtakingly beautiful in that moment, her eyes darkened with passion, her lips slightly parted and moist from their kiss. Both women were breathing heavily as they stared at each other, chests rising and falling in unison.

"Stay here," Emma ordered, her voice already hoarse with desire.

Emma swiftly moved off her, and Regina pushed herself slightly up on her elbows, watching as Emma moved toward the bedroom door. Regina's brow rose for a moment in question before she heard the lock click into place and the light switch flick off, casting the room in darkness for a moment until she heard the sound of a match being struck as Emma began to light the candles in the room. A small salacious grin came unbidden to Regina's lips as she remembered the last time they'd used those candles. Thinking about it, she could still feel the hot wax hitting her skin in a slightly painful, erotic touch, and wondered if Emma intended to use them the same way again.

Emma glanced at her, and Regina raised her eyebrow in question.

"Not this time, Regina. This time it's just us. Just me and you. Alone."

The way Emma said it caused Regina's knowing grin to disappear as she suddenly realized Emma's intentions. She was going to make love to Regina. Not just have sex with her or fuck her as they'd always done in the past. This time there would be no denying what the meaning of what they were doing held, and Regina found herself feeling uncharacteristically nervous as she watched Emma light the rest of the candles, suddenly at a loss as to what to say or how to act. It was crazy really, sex was nothing new to Regina, but this was. She and Daniel had never made love, he insisted on waiting until they were married, and what she'd done with Leopold, what she'd been forced to do, how he'd used her… it made her sick, and she forcefully pushed the memories from her mind. Her life had taught her sex was a tool to be used and wielded to meet your own selfish needs, whether that was to manipulate someone to get what you wanted or to use just for your own pleasure, but there had never been any meaning behind it. Not like this.

With the last candle lit, Emma turned back around to face her, and again Regina found she had to concentrate on how to breathe normally as Emma stripped off her red leather jacket and threw it across the room, followed swiftly by her shirt, leaving her standing at the end of the bed in her boots, jeans and black bra. The candlelight danced over her pale skin causing Regina to swallow hard as she felt herself begin to throb for this woman who unbelievably wanted to make love with her. Regina had been so afraid that if she'd told Emma who she really was and what she'd done, Emma would either leave or kill her. Yet here she was, her true love, standing before her and offering her everything she'd ever wanted or needed. Regina admitted a part of her would always miss her powers, but she would gladly sacrifice them and herself for all eternity if it meant Emma would always look at her the way she was now.

Regina shifted her shoulders backwards, preparing to take off her robe, but was stopped by Emma's voice.

"Don't. Leave it on." It wasn't a request.

Emma kicked off her boots and climbed onto the bed, crawling toward Regina slowly. The brunette suddenly felt incredibly hot as she watched Emma inch towards her, candlelight flickering in her eyes, intensifying the hungry gaze she wore that was starting to make Regina burn with need. Regina was still propped up on her elbows as Emma held herself over her now. The older woman stopped breathing when Emma steadied herself on one hand, using the other to capture the pieces of silk holding Regina's robe together. Slowly, Emma started to pull them undone, so slowly Regina thought she might go out of her mind. She'd never been so turned on in all her life, and Emma hadn't even touched her yet!

Finally the robe fell halfway open, revealing a taunt, firm stomach, but still slightly covering her chest which was beginning to heave erratically as she waited for Emma's touch. Regina ached to feel Emma against her, and she struggled against the urge to pull the woman down on top of her. Regina closed her eyes, taking a breath to try to steady herself, but then she felt soft, warm fingertips touch her stomach with gentle reverence before beginning to trail a path upwards, and her eyes flew open. Her stomach muscles jumped sharply in response to the touch, and her attempt to control her breathing was in vain.

"You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," Emma whispered reverently as she pushed the robe fully open, revealing Regina's breasts.

To her horror, Regina started to tremble. Emma's fingers stopped moving over her body, green eyes rising with concern as she met Regina's gaze.

"Regina?" Emma questioned.

"I'm fine." Regina felt like an idiot. "It's just – I've never, I mean of course I have," Regina scoffed. "We certainly have, but this…, I – I."

Mercifully Regina was saved from anymore attempts at a bumbling explanation when Emma leaned down, kissing her softly, before rising again to meet her gaze.

"I understand. I never have either," Emma confessed, and Regina felt her love for this woman soar at the shy half-grin Emma gave her.

It had never occurred to Regina that Emma had never made love with anyone before, but then it should have, because when she thought about it, she and Emma weren't really all that different in the ways they viewed sex. The thought gave her pause as she wondered if Emma's past harboured similar horrors to her own which would make her view sex in the same way she did… it reminded her there was so much she still had to learn about her lover. This would be a new experience for them both, and, with that understanding, Regina felt her nervousness slip away, quickly replaced by an overwhelming desire to share this with the woman she loved.

Pushing up on her elbows Regina brought her lips to Emma's once again, immediately taking control of the kiss by pushing her tongue inside. Emma moaned into her mouth, mumbling something unintelligible, her hand resuming its mapping of Regina's body. Regina's back arched when she felt fingertips brush over her erect nipple. When those fingers gripped the nipple firmly and squeezed, twisting it slightly, she gave up trying to hold herself up and wrapped her arms around Emma, pushing her breast into Emma's palm as her tongue pushed further into Emma's mouth, kissing her with burning need. Emma struggled to keep them both up on her one arm, but only lasted a moment before they fell to the bed, a rush of breath leaving her mouth as Emma's weight landed on top of her. Regina relished the feeling of Emma's skin against hers, finally.

Regina writhed beneath her, wanting to feel her everywhere as she wrapped her legs around Emma's back, resisting the urge to dig her heels in, wanting to pull her impossibly closer. Pressing her heat against Emma's bare stomach, she could feel she was already very wet as she slid herself easily against her lover's skin. Emma broke their kiss and Regina threw her head back in pleasure as she undulated against Emma, feeling the pressure build inside her. A low moan escaped her throat when she felt teeth bite her earlobe before Emma sucked it into her hot mouth. Regina almost screamed out when Emma suddenly shifted upward, pressing her jean clad thigh against Regina's heat as her fingers found her nipple again and twisted it forcefully; the coarse friction of the jeans against her caused Regina to grind against Emma with renewed vigour, her hips now rubbing up and down Emma's thigh.

But Regina wanted more, she wanted to feel Emma fully naked against her, so she deftly undid Emma's bra and pushed against Emma when it was free, indicating she wanted her to move. Emma rose to her knees, and Regina slowed the movement of hips as she reached up and pulled Emma's bra off, her mouth watering at the sight of her naked breasts. Sitting up, she placed soft kisses on Emma's stomach before she captured a nipple in her mouth, sucking it hard as her teeth bit firmly around it. Emma's hands came up, grabbing handfuls of long, dark hair as she threw her head back and groaned, holding Regina against her.

Regina used her hands, now free of the bra, to unbutton Emma's pants and slide the zipper down. Roughly, she yanked them down to Emma's knees before grabbing the woman around the middle and pulling her down on top of her. Emma got the message and shifted so she could kick her pants off as their lips crashed together again, kissing passionately while their hands roamed each other's bodies. After a moment, Regina gave Emma a light shove against her chest indicating Emma should kneel again. Breaking the kiss, Emma rose to her knees once more with Regina following. This time, Regina slipped two fingers underneath the black cotton panties Emma had on, her eyes fixated on what they revealed as she slowly slid them down her legs.

Emma's chest heaved with expectation and Regina felt hands on her shoulders beginning to push her robe off. Regina stopped her explorations momentarily and allowed Emma to remove the silk from her shoulders, letting it slide down her arms before leaning in to place a kiss just below the blonde's belly button, her tongue tracing a path down to where she wanted to taste Emma most. She placed a kiss against short curls before grabbing Emma by the hips and turning her before throwing her to the bed. Emma let out a surprised yelp as Regina was already stripping her panties off and tossing them to the floor; once discarded, Regina positioned herself astride Emma, both women letting out a low moan of arousal when Regina's heat settled just above Emma's own.

Regina met Emma's heavy lidded gaze, feeling incredibly powerful at the lust and love she saw looking back at her; these were feelings she had moved this incredible woman to feel. This was true power, she decided, as she started to move against her.

"_You_ are the most beautiful woman _I've_ ever known," Regina whispered against her lips before taking them in another passionate kiss.

Regina's words shot through Emma's consciousness like lightning, electrifying her heart just as the kiss and the increased speed in which Regina rubbed herself against her electrified her body. God, Regina wanted to come, but she also wanted this to last, so it was with effort that she stilled her hips and moved her lips to Emma's neck where she proceeded to lick and bite roughly, feeling an overwhelming desire to mark this woman as her own. It was something they'd never done in the past, because, in the past, they didn't belong to each other. But now – now everything had changed. The Swan had pledged her fealty to the Queen, and the Queen, at long last, found her desire to rule from atop her lonely throne had been vanquished. The longing left in its place was a burning need so strong that the intensity of it moulded and shaped her will into something strange and foreign, yet willingly and readily accepted as Regina conceded her rule, giving all that she now was, had ever been, and ever would be to this woman who lay before her. The hunger to be ruled by this woman's love was insatiable. Regina wanted Emma to feel all that had changed inside her, she wanted Emma to see it in the marks left on her body.

Emma writhed beneath her as she sucked at her neck, scraping her teeth over it roughly as her tongue followed, licking soothingly. Regina moved one of her hands down Emma's body, finding a breast and squeezing it firmly before pinching the nipple between her fingers. Emma bucked beneath her once, a low groan of satisfaction leaving her mouth as she twisted her head to the side and her fingers scraped up Regina's back.

Regina hissed with satisfaction at the slight pain, it wasn't hard enough to draw blood, but it was certainly hard enough to leave red lines across her skin as visible evidence of Emma's pleasure; her lips twisted into a smile as she began to kiss her way down Emma's body, capturing a nipple in her mouth. She sucked it gently while one of her hands twisted and pinched the other, causing Emma to moan loudly. After a time, she released the nipple, flicking the erect flesh with her tongue quickly, before taking it in her mouth again and biting it roughly.

"Fuck, yes!" Emma yelled out in pleasure, her fingers sliding through Regina's long hair and down her back to grab her ass firmly, squeezing the flesh and forcefully moving Regina's hips against her skin once again.

Regina's mouth came away from Emma's nipple then as she sat straight up, throwing her head back as she moved against Emma who was staring at her with such intensity and desire Regina felt her clit throb hard in response. Then Emma slipped a finger beneath her heat, groaning loudly at what she felt. Regina shuddered when she felt Emma's finger against her clit for a moment before the blonde pulled it away.

"You are so wet," Emma groaned as she brought her finger to her mouth and sucked it inside.

Regina let out a low growl at the action, it drove her insane with desire when Emma did that, and she knew the young woman knew that. Swiftly she lowered herself against Emma, both women groaning at the feel of their breasts pressed against each other as Regina swiped her tongue over Emma's lips. Emma's tongue darted out in response, sliding over Regina's before their mouths came together again lustfully.

After minutes of devouring Emma's mouth, the dancing of their tongues against one another driving her insane, Regina sat up again slowly, arching her back as she thrust against Emma once before leaning backward slightly. Using one hand, she reached behind her and ran a finger through Emma's own wet heat. Sliding her finger downwards, she forcefully pushed one finger inside the woman, causing her to cry out and thrash beneath her before Regina quickly pulled it out again, bringing her now very wet finger to her lips.

"You're not the only one who can be a tease," Regina growled seductively as she slowly ran the tip of her tongue up her finger before gradually sucking it into her mouth.

Emma's pupils dilated further as her eyelids half closed, a low groan escaping her. Regina grinned wickedly as she pulled the finger from her mouth and ran it over Emma's lips before lowering herself for another kiss. Greedily they tasted each other before Regina shifted, inserting her legs between Emma's and pushing her thigh where she knew it was wanted most.

"God, yes!" Emma exhaled into Regina's mouth as she began to push herself against soft skin in slow, languid motions.

Soon Emma wrapped her arms around Regina, holding tightly as her movements increased to forceful thrusts and she tore away from their kiss, panting loudly, her eyes squeezed shut in concentration. When Regina felt Emma start to quake, she shifted again, moving her thigh away. Emma's eyes flew open, glaring at Regina in frustration as a low whimper left her mouth. Regina grinned evilly, holding her gaze as she kissed and licked her way down Emma's body. Regina licked her lips with intent when she got to her destination, and Emma's held fell back, her thighs falling apart as she groaned her approval.

Regina breathed in deeply, finding Emma's scent intoxicating as she looked upon dark blonde hair wet with need. Softly she placed a kiss there, licking moisture from her lips before running her tongue down the length of Emma's desire. Immediately she felt hands grasping the back of her head, gathering handfuls of her long hair that spilled over Emma's thighs before pressing down slightly with encouragement. This was the point where usually Regina would roughly enter Emma with two or three fingers and suck her clit sharply into her mouth, bringing the woman to a quick, shuddering climax, but everything was different this time. Regina luxuriated in the feelings of love that were currently overwhelming her for this woman, and she wanted to take her time, she wanted to make sure Emma could feel how she felt for her with every thrust of her hand and every caress of her tongue.

With excruciating slowness, Regina ran her tongue back up sleek, hot flesh until she reached Emma's throbbing clit. Using her fingers, she spread wet lips apart and flicked her tongue teasingly over the bundle of nerves. Emma's hands tightened in her hair, and she heard a gasp escape the woman as she thrust once against Regina. With teasing intent, Regina's tongue started to circle Emma's clit, flicking over it every so often to build Emma's need. Not that she needed the encouragement; Regina could sense every muscle in Emma's body was tensed, ready. Regina slid her tongue down, and firmly pushed it inside Emma, moving it teasingly as she did so. Emma screamed out something Regina couldn't make out and tilted her hips as she tried to press Regina's tongue deeper into her.

Regina could feel herself clench in sympathy as she slowly swirled her tongue around Emma's entrance, not stopping until Emma begged her to go inside her, and even then Regina didn't. Instead she moved her tongue back to Emma's clit, swirling her tongue more firmly around it this time before sucking it into her mouth while at the same time pressing two fingers slowly inside Emma.

Emma screamed out again, much louder than last time, and Regina decided the bedroom would definitely need sound-proofing. Regina started a slow rhythm with her fingers in and out of the blonde while her tongue and mouth licked and sucked at Emma's clit. Emma began to writhe forcefully beneath her, her hips coming up and down against Regina, causing the brunette to place her free hand over Emma's hips and force her not to move so much, lest she throw Regina to the floor. Emma continued to moan and whimper, struggling not to cry out again when Regina increased her speed and added another finger. Regina could feel Emma's stomach muscles start to clench tightly as she neared orgasm.

Moments later, Emma stiffened and cried out her name, grabbing a pillow and holding it to her face with one hand to smother her screams of ecstasy as Regina continued to thrust and suck as Emma's other hand pulled her hair almost painfully while still managing to push Regina harder against her heat. Finally Emma's hips fell back to the bed, hand going slack in Regina's hair. Regina moved her fingers and tongue slowly now, prolonging Emma's pleasure, the blonde gasping as the tremors still pulsed through her body. Gradually those faded, and Regina gently removed her fingers, stilling her tongue and placing a kiss against Emma's thigh before rising to her knees and moving back up her body.

Catching Emma's gaze as she slid along her sweaty body, Regina felt as though her heart was going to beat out of her chest at the adoration she saw looking back at her. Emma's eyes were half-closed, a satisfied half-grin on her lips as she looked at Regina.

"I love you," Regina whispered emotionally, the words feeling unusually natural.

"I got that," Emma panted, a slow, wry grin coming to her lips while she still struggled to catch her breath, "now let me show you how I feel."

Emma reached for her, brushing aside all that dark hair that was impossibly beautiful as she pulled Regina down to her, claiming her lips in a kiss that reignited Regina's need to feel this woman inside her.

"Show me," she whispered into Emma's mouth.

Emma's hands moved down her body as they kissed, her fingertips grazing the sides of her breasts, continuing down to her hip before moving back up again to cup her full breast. Regina gasped, her back arching slightly when she felt Emma squeeze her nipple, twisting it almost to the point of pain before Emma's mouth closed over it, the hot warmth instantly soothing the burn. Emma continued to tease her breasts until Regina felt she could take no more. Her need for Emma to take her was more powerful than it had ever been before.

"Please," she gasped out, her voice hoarse and desperate, "I need you."

This was not a confession Regina would ever have made willingly before, but now she found she wanted nothing more than for Emma to understand exactly what she did to her, how she made her burn so hot and so bright that nothing could gratify her need except for the touch of her lover.

Emma continued to tease her breasts, but now Regina felt fingertips sliding down her torso, her stomach quivering in anticipation as they slowly trailed their way down. Regina's arms started to shake when she felt the tips of Emma's fingers brush against her heat; she wasn't sure how long she could hold herself up through this.

Emma's mouth moved from Regina's breast to capture her lips again, Emma's tongue plunging inside her mouth at the same time she slid three fingers slowly inside Regina's wetness. Regina gasped Emma's name as they kissed, her arms dropping slightly as the blonde started to move within her slowly.

"God Regina, you're so wet," Emma murmured hotly against her ear as she broke the kiss, "you drive me wild," Emma finished with a growl, removing her fingers and deftly flipping their positions so that Emma was now on top.

Regina moaned as Emma sucked her earlobe into her mouth before burying her head in the waves of Regina's long, dark hair and inhaling deeply.

"You smell so good," Emma half-groaned as she began to kiss her way down Regina's body.

"You don't mind my hair?" Regina asked with hesitation, her voice still thick with desire. She hadn't really wanted to ask the question, it sounded so insecure and weak, but she felt helpless to sensor anything that came out of her mouth anymore where this woman was concerned. However, Regina regretted asking the question when Emma stopped her explorations and looked up at her.

"I don't care what your hair looks like, or what clothes you wear, or what title you go by. I love _you_, the rest is just aesthetics." Emma told her sincerely, but after a moment she smirked and said, "However, I find your long hair incredibly sexy."

Regina started to reply, but then Emma lowered her head and shifted down Regina's body where she settled between her legs spreading her thighs apart gently, and Regina lost her train of thought. Her breath hitched as she watched Emma position her legs how she wanted them before lowering her mouth to Regina's heat. As soon as Regina felt Emma's tongue inside her, she threw her head back, groaning her appreciation as her legs wrapped around Emma's back. Then she felt Emma's tongue swirling around her clit, teasing her with maddening precision before swiftly entering her again only to moments later pull away to swirl over her clit.

Regina dug the fingers of one hand into the sheets beneath her while the other tangled in Emma's hair, cupping the back of her head and urging her on, not that she needed it. Regina bucked into Emma's mouth, her heels digging into her back slightly, when she felt Emma thrust inside her with three fingers, moving in and out of her rapidly, causing a scream to rip from Regina's throat as she, too, now reached for the pillow to muffle her cries. Almost instantly though, Emma slowed her pace, her tongue and fingers languidly coaxing Regina's body toward climax. Regina thrust her hips onto Emma's fingers, begging silently for her to increase her pace and use more pressure, but Emma was having none of it.

"Emma, please!" Regina begged, not caring anymore how desperate she sounded.

For a moment, Emma gave in to Regina's pleas and increased her pace as her tongue began to firmly caress Regina's clit now. Regina's muscles tensed as her orgasm approached, so close now that the flesh around Emma's fingers began to contract and then, just like that, Emma stopped.

A growl of frustration tore from Regina's throat as she sat halfway up and glared at the blonde, her dark brown eyes looking black in the half light. Before she could curse Emma for stopping, the younger woman was on her, kissing her passionately as Regina tasted herself on her tongue. The former Queen bucked against the body atop her forcefully when Emma entered her again, thrusting in and out while using her thumb to rub Regina's clit which was now throbbing unbearably.

"Oh god, yes, Emma!" Regina gasped into her mouth as Emma made love to her.

Breaking the kiss, Emma caught Regina's gaze and held it, her dark green eyes now swimming with bright flecks of gold near the iris as she stared at her.

"You mean so much to me," Emma whispered as she watched Regina begin to approach her climax.

The weight of Emma's gaze and the significance of her words made Regina close her eyes and turn her head away. When she did so, Emma stopped once again, causing Regina's eyes to fly open as she gazed at Emma with a mixture of disbelief and pure frustration bordering on anger. How many times was she going to bring Regina to the edge only to snatch her back from it at the last minute!

"No," Emma said softly as she held Regina's burning gaze, "I want you to look at me. If you turn away or close your eyes, I'll stop."

Regina's eyes widened as she looked at Emma as if she were mad. She'd never done such a thing before, never even wanted to do such a thing before, but as she processed Emma's words and gazed into eyes so filled with love, she understood that was exactly why Emma wanted her to do it with her. Regina nodded once, swallowing hard.

Emma started moving her fingers again and Regina almost, out of pleasure, closed her eyes as she groaned, but she struggled to keep them open and held Emma's gaze as the blonde moved inside her. With every thrust, Regina felt as if Emma were filling the void in her heart she thought would be with her forever.

Regina wrapped her arms around Emma and clutched at her desperately as she stared into a gaze so full of love and tenderness it brought tears to her eyes, and she felt something shift within her. Regina had tried so hard not to let Emma in, but the woman had seen past her walls and tore them down to find the real woman terrified and shaking behind them. As Regina came, thrusting wildly against Emma, her nails digging into the skin on her back, she swore that tonight she was going to start over; tonight she was done with her graceless heart. In its place beat one Emma had renewed, enabling Regina to feel a love unlike any she ever thought she'd be capable of. Looking into Emma's loving eyes, she found hope again.

A hoarse scream tore from Regina's throat as she convulsed in Emma's arms, and she strained not to throw her head back and break the gaze Emma had asked her to keep. Instead, she held it, wanting Emma to see the changes she had wrought within her as a tear escaped her vulnerable, dark brown eyes. Emma seemed to understand as she smiled at her softly and leaned down to kiss the wetness from her cheek. As Regina rode out the remaining tremors, a quiet sob of joy escaped her throat, and, in response, Emma brought their lips together, tongues tangling passionately as their love for each other consumed them.

Regina found herself still shaking, even once the orgasmic tremors had subsided, and she still clutched at Emma, unable to let her go just yet. Emma removed her fingers and used her hand to pull the sheet over them, wrapping both arms around Regina once she had done so, and holding her tightly. Regina buried her head in Emma's shoulder, struggling to catch her breath and still her trembling body.

"I love you, Regina," Emma whispered into her ear, "and I want to be with you forever. Please, don't ever doubt that again."

In response, Regina only clung more tightly to Emma. She knew better than to promise she would never doubt it again, because she was a woman who would always be prone to doubt that she deserved love. For Emma though, she would try. She would try to remember that the woman holding her loved her unconditionally and had proven it this night. As Regina allowed herself to settle into the knowledge of this, into the reality of this moment, she wondered how many more times she would have to remind her heart of the truth in Emma's words.

For tonight however, nothing but a languid contentment occupied the space between Regina's heart and her mind. As the two lovers so recently pledged to one another allowed themselves to finally drift away into a calm, restful slumber, breaths mingling together, bodies entwined, a peacefulness never before felt by either of them settled over their home. It blanketed their bed, covering them completely as it spread outward and down the hall, into their son's room where he lay dreaming of heroes and adventure, content and safe within the love of his new family. Outside his window, the lights twinkled across Storybrooke, casting a soft glow into the atmosphere as a falling star shot across the sky. Wishes were made, hearts were mended, and loves were reunited on this night which would always be remembered, when the curse was broken and all their happy endings were returned.


	10. Epilogue

**Author's Note: SwansAndQueens here. This is it, we've made it to the end of our little story! Though it's not really an ending, Swan Queen and Storybrooke will go on as long and as far as your imagination can take you. Many thanks to Laura for asking me to author this epilogue for all of you, which picks up 10 years in the future from where Chapter 9 left off. This story is deep inside both of our hearts, and we have spent countless hours going over everything, trying to make sure it's just right for you. I do sincerely hope you enjoy it and will leave some final reviews for us. You're encouragement along the way has been wonderful, thank you all so much for the support.**

**One last thing, if we have any readers who are Rizzles fans or fans of Imagine Me & You, you'll notice I've included a few nods in their direction here. Enjoy!**

**Laura's Note: Thanks sooooo much for this! I love it! I hope you all enjoy it and have enjoyed this story! Please contact SwansandQueens at u/3833886/SwansAndQueens as well to let her know you liked her epi! And of course you can still leave reviews here as well! **

It was a brisk November day in Boston, and the last of the fall leaves blew across the path in front of Henry Mills as he felt his step grow a little lighter when he rounded the corner and continued along the sidewalk of the familiar neighborhood he had called home for the last eight years. He passed row upon row of brownstone apartment buildings before coming to a standstill in front of the particular set of concrete steps that would lead him upwards to the Swan-Mills residence. A quick glance above him showed him his bedroom window looking the same as always when his mothers expected him home for a weekend visit from college, the blinds open to allow in the sunlight, blue curtains drawn back as if in invitation to step right in. As had always been his habit, he paused in the entryway to check the mailbox for apartment number 28 before taking the stairs two at a time up to the third floor.

Flipping through the mail, there were the usual business letters addressed to Regina Mills, Attorney at Law, as well as a few for Detective Emma Swan-Mills. Henry couldn't help the small spark of delight that surely flashed in his eyes as they fell upon what lay buried in the bottom of the pile. It was the latest issue of one of the comic books that had been his favorite as a kid. Despite his 20 years of age, Henry couldn't help enjoying keeping up with the newest adventures of these characters which seemed like old friends to him. Whenever he would come home like this, there were always several issues piled up and waiting for him on his bed. If any of his college friends knew he still read comic books, he might've been slightly embarrassed, but he never could bring himself to ask his mother to cancel his subscription. And, truth be told, Regina Mills would've had a difficult time canceling that long standing subscription anyway. Although she was as proud of him as any mother should be of a son who was away at college on a writing scholarship, she did miss him terribly, and she loved finding these comic books in the mailbox just as much as Henry did. It was like a small reminder that he was always coming home.

At the top of the third floor landing, Henry dropped his bags and dug his key out of his pocket, inserting it into the polished brass doorknob. Unlocking the door and stepping inside, Henry looked around and breathed in the familiar and comforting scent of home. It was only 4 p.m., and it would still be a couple of hours before his parents made it home from work. Tonight they'd all be going out to dinner together at a little pub nearby called The Dirty Robber. A gritty, homey place, Henry swore they had the best cheeseburgers in town. Emma loved the beer selection, and Regina would tolerate the place since they did offer a decent array of wines as well. However, all that wasn't happening until later, and Henry's stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten anything in, well, at least 2 hours. He was heading straight to the refrigerator when he spotted a plate of something on the kitchen counter that looked appetizing. Ah, apple turnovers. Upon closer inspection, he saw a yellow sticky note next to the plate with his name written on it in Regina's scrawling script. Below his name, in parentheses, was a little message for Emma as well, "Emma, I swear if you don't leave a few of these for Henry's consumption, I shall destroy your happiness. You know what I'm capable of." Henry rolled his eyes as he grabbed one of the flaky pastries to munch on. _Some things never change,_ he thought to himself. His mother would always love to boss his other mother around with threats that really just sounded more like flirting than anything else. God, it was embarrassing at times. Well, not as embarrassing as it had been in his younger years, that was for sure. Back during the time before his mothers had finally given up the fight against the pull they felt towards one another, there had been quite a few uncomfortably heated exchanges Henry had been forced to suffer through.

Of course, once the curse had broken, all that had changed dramatically, literally overnight. In Henry's young, boyish mind, he had never imagined just what the breaking of the curse would actually mean for him, his mothers, and all of Storybrooke, really. Oh, he'd had daydreams where all of them returned to the Enchanted Forest to live in some grand castle where he'd learn riding and swordsmanship and go off to slay dragons and rescue princesses, but fantasy rarely ever reflects reality. As it had happened, magic had returned to Storybrooke rather than returning the town back to their former world, but it was not to last. With the final destruction of Rumpelstiltskin's powers, magic had left Storybrooke just as quickly as it had come. When the curse holding Regina captive was broken, the last bit of magic had faded away, and that was that. A land without magic, indeed. Somehow, back then, his adoptive mother hadn't even figured into Henry's naïve picturing of what life would be like after the curse. She was the Evil Queen, meant to be vanquished, but how that would play out wasn't of too much concern to his 10-year-old mind. Happily ever afters, that's what Henry had wanted. Life turns into a different kind of fairytale though, one in which everything you think you know can get turned on its head in an instant.

With the breaking of the curse, Henry had found himself with the family and home he had always wanted. Emma was living right there with him, his mother having finally relented, allowing Emma fully into both of their lives, and, in doing so, had found herself rescued as well, the ever elusive happiness for which she had always searched suddenly being within their grasp. Emma truly had lived up to her role as the savior in breaking the bonds of the curse over Storybrooke, but what Henry hadn't ever counted on was his mother laying down her life to save all of them as well. Looking back now, Henry thought how fitting it was that his mothers had, in a sense, rescued each other. And Henry couldn't help but feel some pride in the part he played in all of it too, after all, he was the one who had come to Boston all those years ago to find his birth mother in the first place and bring her back home to her people, where he was sure she belonged.

The summer when Henry was 12, his family had moved to Boston. Things always were a bit awkward for Regina in Storybrooke after the breaking of the curse, and understandably so. The townspeople, for the most part, seemed to recognize that she had done her best to right her wrongs that day in the forest with Rumpelstiltskin when she had given up her powers, and noble acts such as that were not taken lightly by those with fairytales in their blood. Regina had stepped down as mayor, as even she could see the absurdity of carrying on as things always had been. Elections were held, and the Blue Fairy, now known as Mayor Ghorm, was elected. The citizens seemed to place a lot of faith in her wisdom and ability to lead during a crisis, and besides, being a nun hadn't suited her very well anyway.

For her part, Regina had found herself restless during her last year in Storybrooke before deciding to move away. Without a town, let alone a kingdom to run, Regina hardly knew what to do with herself and was listless and without purpose. Though she channeled much of her focus into her new partnership with Emma and rebuilding her relationship with her son, it wasn't enough to fulfill the inner drive that she felt to be working towards something, and what that something should be took a little time to figure out. She would find herself often feeling guilty for her past; healing is a long and difficult road. Over time, she came to recognize that this new lease on life she had been given came with a propensity to see justice done as well, and, what with her political background and experience as mayor, studying law seemed like the natural next step for her. Once the decision was made, her purpose renewed, Regina gave it her all, just as she had done everything she felt passionately about throughout her life. Now she was working for the District Attorney's office in Boston, fighting for justice and defending those who had been wronged. She may not have ever admitted it in so many words, but both Emma and Henry knew that it was a way to silence the voices within which would otherwise haunt her for her own former misdeeds. As ever, Regina had found a way to survive.

Emma would often joke that she was retired from curse breaking, as no further need for it had ever arisen in the ten years since the last one was broken. When her family moved to Boston, the post for sheriff was left open, and elections were once again held. It came as a surprise to no one when James White was elected. James had decided to take Snow's last name, as he had never really had one in the Enchanted Forest where last names weren't very common, and it seemed to be an acceptable and progressive thing to do in this world. Deterring criminals in Storybrooke seemed to be well within his qualifications and skill set, especially after he remembered that he had once slain a dragon. It gives a certain air of confidence and determination to oneself.

Leroy worked alongside James as a deputy to keep the peace in their little town. Leroy had chosen to keep his Storybrooke name, as Grumpy just sounded plain ridiculous, not to mention the fact that he had no reason to be grumpy anymore since he had been reunited with Nova. They were married now and even had a couple of kids who thought it was the coolest thing ever on the days when their dad would allow them to accompany him on his patrol. Nova was exceptionally proud of her husband for being one who kept the peace now rather than breaking it, as he had been prone to do as the town drunk; those days were over, and he wasn't looking back.

In Boston, Emma had been able to get on with the Boston Police Department, eventually working her way up the ranks to detective. She would even occasionally find herself working beside Regina on a case here and there, and was that ever an interesting situation for all those involved whenever it happened. Both women were strong and fiercely committed to their duties, and when the inevitable clashing of wills occurred, the sound of it was likely to be heard echoing throughout the streets of the city. Their colleagues knew better than to complain, however, because once they decided to figuratively lay down their weapons and align themselves, acquiescing their wills to one another, there was no more formidable team.

As always, the way the two women conducted themselves in their professional lives was just a reflection of the way things worked in their personal lives as well. The road wasn't always smooth for them in their pursuit of happiness, there were many bumps and potholes to be navigated along the way, and ok, even the occasional bridge which seemed to be washed out, but still, eventually, they would always find a way. When Henry was 14, there was a period of time when his parents had split up, and even to this day his face would cloud over when he thought back on it. He had gone to stay with his grandparents in Storybrooke that summer, and honestly it was for the best; he was heartbroken over his parent's split, but at the same time he felt so angry with both of his mothers for their stubborn refusal to see what he knew with perfect clarity – that they were meant to be together and always had been. He knew it hadn't been easy for them to overcome some of the obstacles in their way, like Emma's issues with trust and insecurity, and his own mother's guilt. And, let's face it, Regina wasn't always the easiest woman to live with. Things seemed to reach a boiling point when the stress of Regina's law studies and the length of time it was taking to get through school and into a position where she could actually feel like she was doing some good for the world rather than spending all her time in a classroom or with her nose buried deeply in a textbook combined with Emma's stress and disappointment of having worked so hard to get a promotion to detective only to have been passed over for someone with seniority rather than more ability. The result was a meltdown which got messy, ugly, and loud.

Emma had moved out and taken a small studio apartment across town, while Henry remained behind with Regina who, when she wasn't studying, prowled around the apartment taking her frustrations out on the floor she was mopping or the doorknob she was polishing, picking up any stray things of Emma's that she found lying around and tossing them in the box beside the front door she had labeled "junk," all the while muttering under her breath about how it was about time she was given the chance to properly tidy up the place without Emma coming behind her and destroying all the order she created. Henry knew enough to barricade himself in his bedroom out of sight when Regina was in those moods.

On the flipside, however, there were those times when Henry would get up to get a drink of water or use the bathroom late at night, and he'd hear Regina in her room, crying quietly. He'd hated what the separation was doing to his family. A few times, he'd gone in to his mother when she'd been crying particularly hard, wanting to extend what comfort he could, and, truthfully, needing comfort himself. He'd crawled into bed beside her and just lain there, reaching over to squeeze her shoulder or gently pat her back. "It's gonna be ok, Mom. Emma will come back, you'll see. She wouldn't really leave us," he'd offered, needing to convince himself of his own words just as much as he'd needed his mother to believe them. He knew Regina was grateful for his presence there, and he was glad he'd decided to stay with her rather than take his things to live with Emma. Regina seemed so much more fragile than Emma, she needed him. He had known for a long time that his mother was never half as strong as she projected to the outside world. He and Emma, they were her strength.

When summer rolled around, it was with some hesitation but mostly relief that Henry left for James and Snow's. He had hoped to find a way to bring his parents back together again, but all attempts up to that point had failed. They just didn't want to be around each other, at least that's what they'd said, but Henry knew better. Before leaving town, Henry had gone to visit Emma one last time and see what progress he could make with her.

"Please come home, Emma. We miss you, it's not the same without you."

Emma gazed at Henry from a face that looked careworn and somehow older than the last time he had seen her. The lines and creases on her forehead more prominent, her eyes slightly bloodshot, dark circles underneath them. "Henry, I know you may want me back, but your mom has made it pretty clear that she doesn't."

"Emma, you know how she is! She's stubborn, and so are you. She doesn't want to look weak, but we both know enough to see past all of that. Sometimes she cries…" he trailed off for a moment, sighing before continuing on, "and I just don't know what to say to her anymore. She needs you back, Emma."

Emma had just smiled at him sadly before pulling him into a tight hug. He pulled away to peer up at her once again, and she placed a hand on each of his shoulders, looking into his eyes, "You're a good son, you know that? We're both so lucky to be your mother. We're gonna be alright around here, and I don't want you worrying about us this summer. Just go have fun and do what kids in Storybrooke do, skip rocks on the water, or climb trees, or ride bikes…whatever. Just don't worry, ok?"

She squeezed his shoulder and let him go. Henry stood looking at her warily for a moment. "I'll try not to. See you in a couple months?"

"Definitely. See you in a couple months, kid."

Henry spent the summer trying to do exactly as Emma had told him and not worry, instead focusing on enjoying his time and freedom to roam the streets of his hometown as he had as a kid, hanging out with childhood friends and enjoying ice cream at Granny's. Henry developed his first crush that summer, the result of hormones kicking in, spending too much time at the diner, and the low cut blouses and short skirts Ruby (again, Red was just too silly of a name to hang onto in Storybrooke) never seemed to tire of wearing. Henry could hardly believe he had gone his whole life without quite appreciating just what Ruby offered the patrons of the little establishment, but he certainly appreciated it at 14. He and Nicholas would come nearly every afternoon and sit in their usual corner booth which gave them a great vantage point to observe all the goings on of the place as well as Ruby's doings. Ruby was no longer just a waitress however, she was now the manager and owner of the diner.

After the curse had broken, Ruby left Storybrooke for New York City. She just needed to feel freedom for a change, and to be a part of something bigger than herself. The city ran itself like a well-oiled machine, and Ruby loved the way she could slip right into the rhythm and hum of the busyness going on all around her. It was a far cry from small-town Storybrooke. She was able to get a few modeling jobs which paid well enough for her to get by, but much as she hated to admit it, she missed the warmth and comfort of home. After she had been in the city a little over a year, she had gotten the call one cold winter morning that her grandmother had been taken to the hospital. Granny had a history of trouble with her heart, and this was the worst scare yet. Ruby packed up what little she owned and headed home. The doctors did what they could, but Granny was stubborn and refused to take good advice and change her diet. She said she'd been cooking the same way for over 30 years, and certainly wasn't going to change now, god love her. Granny's heart and high cholesterol got the better of her eventually, and it was a sad day in Storybrooke when Ruby said a tearful goodbye to the woman who had taken her in and raised her, protected her, for all those years. After Granny's death, Ruby had considered selling the diner, but she found her attachment to it was just too strong, it helped her feel connected to the only family she'd ever known, so she stayed on and ran the place herself, along with the bed and breakfast. And, Henry had been sure, no one was happier than he about Ruby's decision to stay.

September came around, and with it, the time to return to Boston for the start of the new school year. One afternoon, Regina's black Mercedes rolled up into town again, and instead of Regina coming to collect him alone as Henry had expected, Emma was with her as well. Hope caused Henry's heart to jump a little at catching sight of his mothers together, but trepidation kept him from asking too many questions on the ride home. When they finally made it back to Boston and pulled up in front of their apartment, Henry couldn't hide the grin on his face when Emma accompanied he and Regina upstairs and inside, especially once he saw ample evidence of Emma's usual mess strewn around the place. All was as it should be once more, he thought, as he had thrown his bags on the floor and flopped down on the sofa, turning on the television. His mothers had eventually joined him on the couch with bowls of popcorn, one for them to share and a full bowl for him, Emma ruffling his hair as she walked by saying, "Missed ya around here, kid," before settling down at the other end of the couch and sliding an arm around Regina who sat in the middle with Henry's legs stretched across her lap, ever the couch hog that he was.

The next year, the Swan-Mills family had once again returned to Storybrooke for the annual Miner's Day festival and for the ribbon cutting ceremony on the new youth home that was opening up. Rather than sell her large house when she left town, Regina had donated it for use as a home and school for troubled youth from the city who had been in run-ins with the law. The home would accept kids who needed rehabilitation, and it offered them a stable place to live and study, where they were also able to receive counseling. Dr. Hopper (who refused to be called Dr. Cricket) was the head counselor on staff, and Snow White was the dean of the school. Mrs. White, as the students called her, continued to be beloved by all, as she devoted her time and energy to making the home a safe and warm haven for those kids who needed it most. Though she may not have been able to guide her own daughter on the right path as she grew up, she was now able to make a difference every day in the lives of those kids who, with love, encouragement, and care, were able to find that their conscience truly would lead them well away from those darker choices they may have made in life otherwise.

A few years later, the Swan-Mills Foundation was set up to offer college scholarships to those kids who successfully completed the program, and Emma and Regina attended the ceremony every year to help award the scholarships and cheer on the students to their next goal in life. The people of Storybrooke would always show up en masse for this ceremony as well, as they felt a special connection to these kids who weren't so very different from any of them. These young people had been taken in and cared for by their own, and had been given a second chance to live a better life, just as all of Storybrooke had been.

As the Boston sun began to sink lower on the horizon, casting shadows across the apartment as the softening light filtered in through the sheer curtains covering the front windows, Henry's thoughts returned to the present, and his eyes slid over to the plate on the kitchen counter once more. He thought about getting up off the couch where he had been lounging, just daydreaming and flipping through his comic book, to retrieve the last of Regina's famous apple turnovers and finish them off, but just then he heard footsteps on the stairs out in the hallway and the familiar voice of his mother, "I'm warning you, Emma, stop antagonizing me about this case! It's going to get you nowhere! I will not allow my client to be further harassed by you or anyone else with the Boston Police - "

"Regina! Shhhhh," Emma effectively cut her off. "Have you forgotten that Henry's home? God, I don't want the first thing he thinks when he sees us to be that we're just arguing all the time anymore."

"Well, aren't we, dear?" Regina quipped, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Henry could hear her fumbling in her bag for her keys now.

Emma's voice dropped a few octaves, "Now you know as well as I do, _my queen_, that we do plenty more than argue," at this Regina sucked in a sharp intake of breath promptly followed by…_Oh God_, Henry thought, _was that a giggle? Here we go. _

Henry rolled his eyes and got up off the couch to open the door for them, since they seemed to be having no luck at finding a key, preoccupied as they were at the moment. A look of unexpected surprise flashed briefly across both women's faces as the door was swung wide open, revealing Emma posed suggestively with one hand on Regina's hip, the other reaching around back of her in what Henry could only assume was one of her famous ass-grabs that he'd had the humiliation of witnessing more times than he cared to remember. For her part, Regina recovered quickly, throwing her arms around Henry and placing a wet kiss on his cheek as she did so, though she had to stand on her toes to reach his face nowadays, as he'd grown a good bit taller than her.

"Aw, geez, Mom," Henry complained as he wiped the wetness from the side of his face, though his other arm reached around his mother to hug her back, "Good to see you, too!"

Emma, having recovered from being caught in the act of groping her wife, beamed at Henry from the other side of the doorway. "Welcome home, kid," she said in her customary greeting to him.

"Hey, Em," he replied, grinning and reaching out an arm behind his mother to grasp Emma's hand tightly, as Regina still hadn't let him go from his chokehold yet.

"Let me look at you," Regina finally demanded, stepping back to let her gaze roam over Henry's form, "Are you getting enough to eat at college? Are you getting enough rest? You haven't been sick have you, you look pale."

"Mom, I'm fine," Henry chuckled, exchanging a knowing glance with Emma.

"Oh, you two," Regina fired back, catching the look that had passed between them. "Always mocking my concern, and likely conspiring against me" she said as she stalked forward into the apartment. "I've got eyes in the back of my head, you know, so don't try anything."

"Give it up, mom," was Henry's nonchalant reply. "We all know your bark is bigger than your bite anymore. You aren't fooling anyone here," he finished with just the slightest hint of a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"So where are we eating tonight?" Emma asked, dropping down into an armchair and throwing her boots up on the coffee table that Regina worked so hard to keep polished and free of scuff marks. "I'm starving!"

"Well, it's easy to see where Henry gets it," Regina called from the next room, never one to miss an opportunity for a barb.

"I thought we'd go down to The Dirty Robber," Henry grinned.

"How did I know that was coming?" Emma laughed. Henry had been obsessed with that place for a while now. It sounded fantastic to Emma, after the busy week she'd had, she was more than ready to kick back and relax with her family and an ice cold beer.

"Regina, how long before you're ready?" Emma yelled back to the bedroom.

"Patience is a virtue, my dear," Regina answered back in a sing-song voice meant to goad Emma.

The goading didn't work though, Emma was too used to it by now. Their bantering and bickering was legendary amongst their family and friends. However, it was the sport of it that drew Emma in this time. "I didn't know virtue was a concept you were at all familiar with," she shot back.

Whatever Regina's reply was couldn't be made out, but judging by the tone of her voice and the sound of items being tossed around in the closet none too gently, she had gotten a bit huffy at that one. Any snarky retort Emma may have been working up for Regina's eventual emergence from the bedroom died on her lips, however, once she saw her wife standing there looking like she was ready to walk the red carpet somewhere, when all they were doing was going out to a pub. Regina wore tight black pants which showed her bare ankles, black patent leather heels, and a creamy white, tailored jacket with black trim over a black silk tank top with which Emma was already intimately familiar. Regina had taken the time to flat iron her dark hair, and it framed her face, sleek and shiny. Emma's breath hitched in her throat as she sat there speechless for a moment, taking in this beautiful fucking creature.

Regina just smirked.

"Well, my darlings, shall we?" She held out her hands to both Emma and Henry, one hand pulling Emma up out of her stupor from the armchair, the other reaching over to grab Henry and pull him off the couch, away from the comic book he couldn't seem to put down.

"I've been ready for hours, woman" Henry grunted, walking ahead of them and down the stairs to the front doors of their building.

"I'm ready for _anything_ this night decides to hand me," Emma murmured in Regina's ear as she brushed past her, raising an eyebrow.

Regina laughed, a pure, clear, deep sound that followed Emma down the stairs and out into the street below where their son was waiting for them, the last notes of it mixing and mingling with the crisp autumn air outside. The November sun that glistened off the waters of the Maine coast to the north, reflecting across a quiet evening in the quaint town of Storybrooke, was the same sun that now shone its last light over Boston as the city began to come alive to meet the night. The last few rays of illumination cast a golden glow down on the small family of three that walked arm in arm through the city street, laughing and poking fun at one another as they went along. Though some would call their story remarkable, there was no more ordinary sight than the smiling trio making their way towards the warmth and inviting smells wafting out of the corner restaurant and pub for which they were headed.

Meeting your destiny, it seemed, really could be as simple as this. Happy endings weren't found only in storybooks and fairytales, but in people's hearts which is where the true power for such things always exists – within love itself.


End file.
